history & philosophie 

I am Clémence Joséphine the founder of Agence Censis Rubliss. ACR is a research, production and design agency, focused on innovative, bio-sourced, renewable materials, and geared towards a circular economy and thoughtful consumption. Acting in the field of fashion accessories, design and interior architecture, the agency tries to find materials meaning and products life sense. Today, “planting”, “harvesting”, “recovering”, “designing”, “producing”, “consuming”, “reusing”, “repairing” and “recycling” need a redefinition, a new wisdom to follow.

Censis Rubliss is originally the address where my grandfather passed his childhood: 106 rue Bliss in Beirut, Lebanon. His stories about a healthy and joyful life, fascinated and inspired me from an early age. Later he moved to La Tremblade, and introduced to me oysters’ gastronomic pleasures.

Thanks to more than 10 years as an architect in the ever-changing world of European construction, I was able to observe the ecological limits of materials, their production and their implementation. The modern crisis in fossil and mineral materials outrages me and motivates me to seek new possibilities. Indeed, the over-exploitation of sand, oil, steel and other minerals presents an enormous danger for landscapes, fauna and flora, but also for each of us as consumers. These materials are not renewable, nor entirely recyclable so fast as our modern life demands. Therefore, it’s urgent to change our habits, to rethink a system, even if it means slowing down the race for profit.

After researching alternatives and nurturing an interest in plant or algae based materials, I developed a handmade first line of body and home accessories based on bio- sourced materials (french origin) and recovered oysters and mussels shells in my atelier in Marennes-Oleron basin.
Shells are collected from restaurants or local individuals and replace circularly sand or stone. This non-recovered waste would be buried or burned, in the same way as household waste. 100% made out of plant matter and shells, and containing no toxic additives or plastics from petrochemicals, the created materials are recyclable, renewable and industrially compostable.

Innovation is a holistic practice, which integrates altruism, empathy, sincerity and transparency. It is an effort which requires time and creativity to stimulate and rethink the life cycle of the product down to its packaging.

The beauty of the form alone is no longer enough, I looking for a coherence between good and beautiful, from “the spoon to the city”

(Max Bill, «Die gute Form»).