Now it’s the turn of the gorgeous Jenna Haugmard to share all her stories! The mum of our “Le Baiser” bar tells us EVERYTHING, absolutely EVERYTHING, and it’s hilarious 🙂
THE PORTRAIT
Hi Jenna! To start with, tell us about your background.
I did a literary baccalaureate in visual arts & audiovisual studies in Nantes, followed by a foundation year in applied arts on the home turf of the Puy du Fou eagles in Vendée. Then I moved up to the capital to join the École Duperré and, two years later, the École Estienne. Finally, since I knew nothing about the internet, I thought it would be a good idea to do a master’s in web at the Sorbonne. After that, my parents suggested it might be time to start working. There was lots of light and stag heads at the Leg agency, so I joined. That’s where I started doing advertising without even realising it, alongside Christophe Dru, a seriously brilliant illustrator. A year later, I moved to DDB Paris to assist Jean-François Boucher and Jessica Gérard Huet, two drawing lovers who had just won a whole bunch of awards for the stunning Nova campaign. I’ve always drawn a lot alongside advertising, first for myself, and then gradually for brands and magazines.
How would you define your style?
No idea at all – I’d say fairly naive and colourful. I haven’t progressed much since Year 6, when I learned to colour neatly and match colours together. I just hope people don’t think it’s girly. That would break my heart!
Where do you find your inspiration?
I read a lot of graphic novels and try to pop into illustration exhibitions as often as I can. Either to see my mates or to have a drink. Usually both! Right now, I’m in the mood for pastels, coloured pencils and felt-tips, Simon Roussin style. This summer I had time to reread Clowes’s “David Boring”, a classic among classics and as gripping as ever, and I finally read “L’été Diabolik”, which I was given almost a year ago. Its graphic style pays tribute to 1960s drawing.
The piece you’re proudest of?
Honestly, I think it’s Jane & Serge’s kiss, because it wasn’t planned and I had so much fun scribbling it with no constraints. They’re an iconic couple who fascinate me.
How did the LCDF x Jenna Haugmard adventure begin?
After the “Pâques pour les yeux” exhibition for a charity at the Sergeant Paper gallery, Le Chocolat des Français kindly offered to produce a bar featuring the kiss, which people had really loved. I said yes straight away and was thrilled to see it at Le Bon Marché and Colette a few months later.
Any projects on the go or new ones coming up this autumn?
I’ve got loads of projects on the go, but whether they’re for ads or personal, they all revolve around illustration and publishing. For a few months now I’ve been lucky enough to work with Ugo Gattoni, whose work I’ve admired for ages. It’s opportunities like this that make me love my job as an art director so much. I can’t really say more, but I can’t wait to see it all take shape.
JENNA’S QUICK-FIRE ROUND
Who wouldn’t you give even a single square of chocolate to?
The gropers on the metro, especially in summer in Paris.
If you hadn’t gone into advertising, what would your dream job be?
At 5, I wanted to be a weather presenter, because I thought she worked three times a day and decided what the weather would be here and there. But in the end, I think I’d much rather be a full-time illustrator in a studio full of super cool people.
What’s yellow and waits?
A banana at a red light.
Your favourite colour?
Green. Did you know it’s the colour the human eye perceives best? Something to do with chlorophyll, as Jamie would say. Something to do with food, as usual. Plus, my mum says it’s the colour of hope, so there you go.
The word you always have to check the spelling of?
“Appeler”. I know there’s a rule, but I just can’t remember it.
Where would you dream of seeing your illustrations exhibited?
In a gallery in Wynwood in Miami, at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles, at the Guggenheim in New York or, more realistically, at L’Attrape-Rêve, the Slow Galerie or Sergeant Paper in Paris.
Your go-to bar/restaurant in Nantes?
Le Lieu Unique. It’s the old LU biscuit factory right by the station, converted into a restaurant, bar, performance venue, exhibition space, bookshop and hammam.
If we invite ourselves round tonight, what will you cook us?
Well, I love having people over, but I don’t think I inherited the genes of my dad, who’s a chef and pastry chef. If you give me some warning, I can make you really good buckwheat galettes, with sugar crêpes for dessert, because I have a special, super heavy pan that I lug around every time I move house, so it might as well get some use.
Your favourite pastime?
I think what I love most is going out for drinks on a terrace with my friends when the sun’s out. But since that makes me sound like an alcoholic, let’s say I also really love drawing. I also like jotting down all the little things people say.
The last link you sent to all your friends?
The music video for “Bouli le bonhomme de neige”, because it’s the name of a bar we’d been to the night before.
The last news story that made you laugh out loud?
Céline Dion x Vogue. Queen of fashion. I think that says it all.
When did you last check your bank account?
I only check my bank account at the start of the month, on payday. Otherwise it’s far too depressing. My grandmother always used to say “ you can’t take your money with you to the grave ”. I’ve always taken that as encouragement to spend my money while I have it. As a result, I’m always overdrawn. Thanks, Granny.
What’s on your bedside table?
A pile of old issues of Lui that I collect, a Hawaii snow globe I was given for my 30th birthday, a notebook where I write down my dreams (which are mostly really stupid, like the night I was a prisoner at Marineland in Antibes, total fail), “ A Confederacy of Dunces ” by John Kennedy Toole, which I’m currently reading. “L.A. Story ” and “Running with Scissors”, my two favourite novels that I keep close by, and a bottle of Fiji water because through the water you can see a tropical scene: so you get to hydrate and travel at the same time. Clever.
Which treat can you never resist?
M&Ms. I can’t eat just one M&M’s, that’s not a thing. I have the same problem with peanuts.
The best moment of your day?
Early morning. I feel like everything is still possible, that I’ll manage to do everything I’ve planned. It’s like the start of a film, just before the plot twists and mishaps kick in.
A one-on-one evening with Donald Trump – what do you do?
I think I’d talk to him about that Pantone orange problem on his face. Maybe he’d actually listen, and opt for a foundation one shade lighter. Because, quite clearly, talking to him about immigration and the environment is a lost cause.
The video you’ve watched way too many times?
The music video for Pacific Sound 3003 – “Paradis de rubis”. The guy is magic. Go and check out his world!
Something you pretended to know before secretly checking Wikipedia?
The lyrics of “Bullet with Butterfly Wings ” by the Smashing Pumpkins.
The most absurd thing you’ve ever typed into Google?
Robin Hood zoophilia.
The best advice you’ve ever been given?
It’s some advice my mum gave me: “if you want to be happy, you have to be rich, and to be rich, you have to work hard at school.” Well, I’m still not rich, but as Heraclitus would say: “everything is relative ”.
What time is your alarm set for tomorrow morning?
7am. Normally, as soon as the alarm goes off, I leap out of bed – unless I go out tonight, in which case it’ll get much more complicated. All will be fine until the overground metro dives underground at Anvers station.
The ad you’d dream of making?
Right now? I’m working for the Agence de la biomédecine and I’m passionate about the subject. I’d love to make a funny, clever ad promoting organ donation. A sort of Boogie Nights. Set in the 70s, with the look of the TV series Fargo. Every light and every frame would be a carefully composed painting. There could be dialogue between a chubby Kirsten Dunst and a skinny Tom Hardy, for example. It would take place in California. We’d shoot for six months, staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Hans Zimmer would do the soundtrack.
Nantes or Paris?
Paris. I think I feel much more Parisian these days, with all the good and bad that comes with it. Like getting annoyed when someone in front of me isn’t walking fast enough, or being outraged when a shop isn’t open on Sundays.
What do you say when you stub your toe?
I say “f***ing mother-f***ing hell”, which is both redundant and vulgar, I’ll admit.
The first thing you do when you get up?
I check the weather on my iPhone, because I’m seriously addicted to weather apps. In fact I have several!
Empty a well with a pipette or cut grass with scissors?
Cut grass with scissors. Or even more satisfying: cut churros dough with scissors.
The country you’d love to visit?
Japan, but I think there’d be a problem with the number of souvenirs I’d bring home. Given that even their toilet roll packaging is cute, it would be a one-way ticket to financial disaster.
If you could watch any film being shot, which would you choose?
Fight Club, because it’s peak Brad Pitt and he’s shirtless for half the film.
What superpower would you like to have?
I’d love to be able to draw as well as Bastien Vivès (Last Man is a masterpiece). Otherwise teleportation is nice, but you’d need to be able to take people and suitcases with you, because wandering around alone in flip-flops must get frustrating after a while.
Eat a maggot or lick a toad’s back?
Definitely lick a toad’s back, hoping it’s a hallucinogenic one.
Which artist inspires you the most?
Ooh, that’s a really tough one. In painting it would be Gauguin for the colours, and Picasso for the daring.
Which artist would you have loved to meet?
I would have loved to meet Gainsbourg, because the man himself, and his poetry, fascinate me.
JENNA’S MULTIPLE CHOICE
The most awkward question?
☐ How much do you earn?
☒ Isn’t my baby beautiful?
☐ Have you put on a bit of weight?
Your favourite filled bar?
☐ Dark, raspberry ganache
☐ Milk, praline
☒ Dark, salted butter caramel (Nantes, represent!)
In your free time you’d rather…
☒ Hunt down new places
☐ Stay under the duvet
☒ Draw
To show off your masterpieces, you mostly use…
Which one?
☐ MACron
☒ MACbook
☐ BigMAC
To draw, you choose…
☐ Pencil
☒ Felt-tip
☐ Gouache
THE “NO BLAH-BLAH, JUST CRAYOLA” INTERVIEW
Your first drawing?
Your favourite chocolate dessert?
Draw me a frog!
Your favourite little doodle?
For you, Paris is… ?
