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LRNCE. Maybe you do not recognize the name but you have already seen their products for sure. Carpets, blankets, paintings, bags, sandals, ceramics… this summer they have invaded the realms of Pinterest and Instagram with their natural colors, the blue of the sky and the ocher of the earth.

LRNCE has inside the warm of the Moroccan sun, the scent of spices, the excitement of the souk. The Marrakech based brand was founded in 2015 by Laurence Leenaert, a Belgian designer who moved to Morocco seeking for sun and freedom. Here she immediately experimented and rediscovered the Berber craft techniques and brought them into contemporary design thanks to a fresh and modern language.

Miniaml lines, stylized faces, flying letters, bold colors, traditional materials, you need to wear sunglasses while looking at the beautiful photos of LRNCE. Laurence tells about Morocco showing its art and craft from a Nordic and fresh point of view.

I dream of a blanket with a stylized face (did you recognize it on the cover of CasaFacile August issue?), a textile wall piece, sandals, mirrors, cushions but also ceramics… basically I want everything!

I’ve been in Marrakesh when I was a child with my parents. I still remember the voices of the Jamaa el Fna square, the mint tea fragrance, the color of the sky at sunset, the dazzling light of the desert, the hidden courtyards of the riads, the Majorelle blue, the large cous cous ceramic plates, the colors of the spices, the fabrics of the carpets… Between the snake charmer, barefoot children and the teeth seller, I find all those memories in LRNCE’s photos and products.

The thing I appreciate most is the ability that Laurence Leenaert has had to update craftsmanship usually handed down from generation to generation. Technique and the materials were already there, what Laurence brought was the design. Once again is the design that changes and upgrade everything, to lead the past into the modern present, to bring the tradition closer to the contemporary in order to make it survive, ensuring it a future and making it feel close to our daily life.

 

Photo LRNCE – photo cover by Silje Paul