A word of advice: don’t ask JJ Martin about quarantine unless you’re prepared to feel like an underachiever. The writer-turned-designer and founder of maximalist lifestyle brand La DoubleJ says the pandemic has been a boon for her creativity: “I had this creative burst during the first four months of the pandemic,” she says. “I was on a rocket ship because it was the first time in my life that I was forced to stop and sit at home.”
She dedicated her time to the design of her stunning new Milan apartment, cultivating her spiritual practice, and of course, developing new collections—the latest of which is a 12-piece collaboration with the Parisian la maison Ladurée, purveyor of delectable macarons.
“This is the first time we’ve collaborated with a French brand,” says Martin, making sure to note that while La DoubleJ did collaborate on a line of more-is-more shoes with Fabrizio Viti, who is based in Paris, Viti himself is technically Italian. “It was just such a nice way to fuse heritage with our crazy lens of color and maximalism and joy.”
Released just in time for Mother’s Day, the new collaboration includes La DoubleJ’s first teapot, an exclusive design crafted in fine porcelain by Italian manufacturers Ancap, an oversized teacup and saucer, and a porcelain goodie jar perfectly shaped to stash macarons. The designs tap into Martin’s own spiritual practice, exploring themes of motherhood, fertility, and the concept of the sacred feminine—each rendered in the pastel pink and pistachio green shades of Ladurée’s signature packaging.
“What I’m really into right now is just feminine energy,” says Martin, who believes society is “significantly ready for an upgrade” as it moves away from its reliance on and acceptance of traditional patriarchal norms. This isn’t Martin’s first foray into the realm of the divine feminine—far from it. Following the release of the La DoubleJ’s goddess capsule collection in the Fall of 2019—which featured abstract interpretations of feminine archetypes including Artemis, Demeter, and Persephone—Martin and Elisabeth Holder, co-president of Ladurée U.S., agreed they wanted their collaboration to expand on a similar concept.
“I proposed to Elisabeth that we really focus on Mother Earth, or Gaia Sophia, as she’s known, as a real living, breathing entity,” says Martin. “I said, why don’t we just celebrate the mother and celebrate feminine energy with all of its abundance and all of its notions of rebirthing.”
The collection is anchored in the Tree Of Life print, an original La DoubleJ artwork which is brought to life on the collection’s cotton twill apron, tote bags, and printed confection boxes that house sets of seven and 13 Ladurée macarons.
The collection also features six of La DoubleJ’s beloved dessert plates in new prints that expand on the theme: a butterfly to symbolize rebirth; a woven motif to symbolize the sacred feminine circle; a bursting rose to symbolize the seed of life; and of course, the face of the sleeping mother.
If you decide to shop the collection below (and honestly, how could you resist?), Martin asks only that you consider holding onto the gorgeous packaging. “The macaron boxes are so beautiful—please do not throw them away,” she says. “This needs to go on your shelf or in the bottom of your closet so that you can remind yourself every day that you are a transformative, multi-dimensional being. And you have a butterfly at the end of this road.” Delicious macarons with a side of divine metamorphosis? After this past year, the reminder is a welcome one.
