A Chic Way to Show Off Your Instant Photos - ISSUE 30
A chat with the founders of Pol-Studio...
This Week…
TGIF - or likely for you it’s actually sometime on Thursday, unless you are also in Australia, so in that case I say TGIT…is that a thing? Probably not, but hey, whatever we say we are getting closer to the weekend which is good!
Right now you can take a little break, grab a coffee, or something stronger perhaps, and dive into this interview with the Founders of the French Brand, Pol Studio. After seeing the beautiful creations from this duo you will no doubt be saving your pennies for some of these AMAZING frames, or perhaps gifting them to that instant photographer in your life who you love so much!
Either way, it’s so cool to see this kind of innovation in the analog photography space and I really enjoyed getting to know more about the effort and dedication that has gone into bringing these cleverly designed frames to life and I hope you do too!
Enjoy the chat and don’t forget to put that discount code to use at the bottom if these frames are calling your name!
Bonjour! Can you tell us the who, what and where of Julien and Victor?
Bonjour Lucy!
We met in 2017. I (Julien) was working at a small motorcycles creative workshop in Lyon (called BAAK), as Marketing Manager. Victor joined the company as a Boiler maker/Metal-sheet worker. We were only 6 people at the company in the beginning and then it grew bigger! We directly felt a professional connection. We had many common interests such as furniture design, photography, motorcycle industry, mountaineering etc.
In 2022, we founded Pol studio, a brand creating instant photo frames for Polaroid & Instax. Our colorful creations are made out of steel and manufactured in France. We started with table frames in December 2022 and just launched our new wall frames in February 2023.
Our workshop is located in Lyon (12 av. Du Nord 69009 TASSIN-LA-DEMI-LUNE), along with Victor’s metal business location. Our manufacturing partners are located less than 20 kilometers far from our headquarters.
Can you describe Pol Studio in four words?
Goodbye fridge - Hello frames!
What was the catalyst in creating these frames? - I’m assuming you both shoot a lot of instant film right?
We came up with Pol studio’s idea when Victor moved from his flat. We came across many instant photos stored in boxes at his place, he spent much time telling me all the memories attached to each one. That was the first time I knew he had Polaroids, he never displayed them at his place. So we figured out that we should make something to expose our photos at home, dealing with the fact that we live in well-decorated places with clean aesthetic. We would never put a pêle-mêle of films attached to the wall with clothes pin…
As a professional metal sheet worker, Victor first created several prototypes in full raw aluminium, stainless steel. We wanted it made out of metal, high-quality painted, modular, beautiful. We finally ended with a table frame you can put in any way depending on where you place it, and which way the photo was shot. We decided to go for Fujifilm Instax Mini format, and Polaroid 600 and I-Type formats as they were the most common ones.
On my side (Julien), I was a compulsive Instax Mini party photographer. I already tried analog photography using my grand-parents camera (Foca Sport). I have personally been shooting digital photos for 8 years now, doing much editing. It’s still part of my job and I still love it, but the instant photography art stuck with me and now I bring more instant than digital cameras.
Designing and manufacturing a product that you are happy with is no small feat - your frames are even made in France too! What were some of the challenges you faced during the process?
We were fully committed to keeping the manufacturing in France since day 1. I quit my full-time job to start again as a marketing freelancer and we founded the company when Victor also quit his job to open his own metal workshop in Lyon. In addition to our companies, we had to deal with the usual entrepreneurship challenges of Pol studio on our own even before the launch in December 2022: packaging, eShop, taxes, distribution, registrations…
Then we discovered how challenging it was to have products manufactured locally in France when you start a company. Both prices and quality are high! We wanted the product to last over time so we chose specific manufacturing methods such as powder-coating for the paintings. The challenge was to find the appropriate price so as many people as possible can enjoy our products, and so both the distributors, the manufacturers and our team can make a fair advantage out of it.
However we directly wanted to develop wall frames, so we associated with a designer, also another former employee of our company called Etienne. We created the design of the wall frames together, revealed it at Maison & Objet Paris 2023. We received a very warm welcome in a pretty new world to us. And here we are!
What is it about instant photography in particular that is so special to you both?
We feel like the fact that modern photography (as “image making”) is so friction less it made us stop putting efforts in it. Smartphones are good at taking photos, it’s always in our pocket. We can shoot as many as we want and have a look at it at anytime. We shoot 9600 photos per year, most disappear on Instagram stories, half are blurry because I wasn’t focused, the other ones will be lost during my next i Cloud crash. It’s not real, I can’t hold it in my hand, it’s not a personal object, I can’t decide who I show it to.
Instant photography is the exact opposite : I want to bring my huge camera only if I feel like something important is happening. I don’t want to waste a dollar on the shot so I focus and make sure to create some nice images. I can keep or give this memory. It’s irrational, and it’s what makes good images out of it, full of sense.
Now when I practice digital photo shootings for companies, I always bring an instant camera on set. By shooting during that time, I can give a twist to the subject, and gift all the staff with physical pieces of memories – that they will perfectly expose in a Pol studio frame!
If you could only have 1 instant camera for the rest of your life which one would it be?
I want to say something really impressive, like a Leica or an SX-70, but I know and love my Polaroid 635CL Supercolor so much that I would go for this one. It’s a survivor, I know it can suffer the life I give it to live, and still make great photos!
I would love to know what the analog photography scene is like in France? Is it thriving and popular?
There are more than 10 million instant cameras in France, and 70% of the population declares owning at least one photo at home. So it’s a pretty big market.
The analog photography scene is also very dynamic. We meet new-comers to analog photography every day. Photo exhibitions happen often, even in small towns. People who had a camera as a decoration, or had it from their grand-parents just like me decide to put film inside for the first time. The analog scene left the exclusive “arty” circle and started to spread everywhere. It’s particularly popular but the price of film is still very complicated.
I was delighted by the will of people to help us. We met artists that spontaneously gave us their photos so we can use it - Heads up to Jean-Baptiste Correges (@nostromo_s), Agathe Astic (@rose_neon1) and Clara Battaglia (@clara_battaglia_)
We are also helping artists highlight their work by lending our frames for them to use when showing their art in galleries and exhibitions.
The funny thing is that we initially thought our creations would be distributed in concept stores and gift shops. Our first two distributors were photo shops and galleries that loved the product and rushed at it!
You have just launched some awesome new wall frames that allow people to display multiple instant photos in one frame! Do you have any other future plans or dreams for Pol Studio and its creations?
The wall frames were a quick big step and told us what the future could be. We would love to enjoy a little bit more the moment when people from all over the world will send us their photos shown in our frames! But then we’re going back at it as we are willing to make a step into most common furniture designs, still manufactured in steel and powder-coated. We have to work on new colors and textures, we’ll submit some of our thoughts to the community so they can get involved in the adventure. We’re working along with our designer Etienne to create more beautiful modular stuff.
Lastly, where can people find you and purchase your beautiful Polaroid and Instax frames?
It’s available on our eShop www.pol.studio and in some locations such as concept stores and photography shops in France, USA, Germany, Italy, Japan… Tell your local shop about us if you can’t find Pol studio there.
The pre-orders for the wall frames just started and will end on May 6th, so we can deliver by June 1st . All the pre-order customers receive a 15% discount using the promo code “ONTHEWALL”, and they participate in a fun game too!
The winner will be announced on May 6th and will receive a set of 4 film packs of their choice (and a few more secret gifts) with their order… and maybe photos of ourselves if they are lucky!
Lucy’s Picks
I was lucky enough to receive some wall frames + (table frames) from the first batch and got to pick out of the full range that is now available - here were my choices - if anyone reading knows me well they will not be surprised by my color choices! I will be sharing how I have styled these in my home soon on IG and YT!
Here in the southern part of the US, we might say “So Happy It’s Thursday”, or SHIT for short