Rodéo Basilic, an artistic quartet
Based in Nantes, Rodéo Basilic is a spatial design and graphic creations agency, where four heterogeneous talents think up and create unique graphic worlds together. From wooden furniture to card making, Rodéo Basilic is a versatile agency, thirsty for diversity and in continually evolving. We took the time to meet up with this finely tuned quartet.
What’s the meaning of your agency’s name, “Rodéo Basilic”?
American-style aromatic dynamic.
There are currently four of you working together. How do you manage to coordinate your talents in order to make your creations?
We work around a rotating table.
What’s Rodéo Basilic’s style all about?
We’ll try to be a little bit more serious here! Rodéo Basilic is first and foremost a gathering around one place, a quick bonne entente and a real desire to work together. We’re all from different backgrounds, but our tastes are quite similar. Rodéo Basilic’s style, I’m not sure if we could even define it, and I don’t really think we want to. During our last exhibitions, we were told our latest poster series was very different to what we usually do, and that made us very happy! Simon is an interior designer, and his experience naturally enriched our graphic creations and vice versa.
In the end, it’s incredibly interesting to see how an idea, a feeling or a wish can take on different forms through diverse visuals, objects or layouts.
L’Oréal, Center Parcs, the University of Nantes, Olow… What do you like about the diversity of your clients?
Indeed, the projects follow, but don’t resemble, one another. We like splitting ourselves between our neighbourhood butcher and property developers. You have to adapt your style, it’s stimulating yet sometimes destabilizing. We haven’t quite reached that stage where we can refuse work yet, but creatively speaking, that’s not such a bad thing.
You’ve done a lot of projects with the people of Nantes (shops, bars, schools, etc.). In what way does the town enrich your work?
We love this town each in our own way, with your family or at nighttime, you can easily find what you’re looking for. With our card series on neighbourhoods, we wanted to place this diversity at the forefront, a graphic nod of some sorts, to our city.
With which project did you have to use your imagination most?
For our clients’ projects, we try to see things like a question to which we have to answer with as much accuracy as possible. It’s with our personal projects that things start to get complicated. We sometimes debate over the choice of a colour, we question ourselves, and we constantly assemble and then tear down our creations, without knowing what they will look like in the end, but with sole objective our common satisfaction.
What would push you to refuse doing a collaboration?
Client close-mindedness is a real deal breaker for us; we know how to follow instructions, but we also like it when we are called upon to bring something a little different to the table !
In what way does Olow match with your graphic world?
Olow has the image of a brand that is open to collaborations and concretely anchored in diversity. That’s essential for us if we want a long-term collaboration.
Our 2016 Fall-Winter collection is based on England. Can you tell us an anecdote or a memory you have from that country?
Jeff remembers a journey we took in an old Bedford campervan. We drove around Cornwall, down tiny paths that often led us into ditches. As for Simon, he had quite a few troubles with immigration. Jérémie, well he reinforced his love there.
Where do you like to hang out in Nantes after work?
During summer, the banks of the Erdre river have really become firm-favourites. During winter, some of us like to go to Monsieur Machin to warm ourselves up a bit.
• Rodeo Basilic Website
To discover the sweat-shirt Olow x Rodéo Basilic on our e-store, click on the picture hereunder
