Kelly Eng et Marie Piplard

The “Les bouillottes” series is an ode to this ancestral object, the silent witness of everyday gestures and guardian of moments of comfort. Relegated to the shadows of modern systems, it is used to provide warmth, bringing together both know-how and sustainable materials. The aim is to pay renewed attention to this domestic object, studying its uses and transcending the archetypal forms it has embodied for centuries.
The project highlights four models of warmers with distinct operating principles, each using natural materials chosen to store and release heat energy: the water bottle, the heating brick, the dry hot water bottle and the sand bottle.
Whether made from stoneware or terracotta, filled with water or sand, wrapped in textiles or filled with cherry stones or linseed, each warmer exploits a unique link between the material and its technical properties. These interactions between container and content activate thermal inertia, restoring heat or coolness. The domestic landscape is above all a natural landscape.
This project highlights the importance of thermal comfort targeted at specific areas of the body or home, while exploring other solutions tailored to individual needs. The aim is to redefine a gentle, concentrated heating system to limit the use of energy-guzzling devices.
A common or obsolete object, we are seeking to include it in unsuspected imaginary worlds, animated by the material that shapes it, metamorphosed over time, impregnated by the gestures and surfaces we encounter. The “bouillotes” become the protagonists of a visual and sensory narrative, reactivating an organic link between humans and their environment.