We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aurore Meleme. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aurore below.

Alright, Aurore thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

If I could go back in time, I wish I had not started my Art & Design business sooner. I registered Aurore Meleme, LLC in mid-October 2024, which I think is the perfect timing.
It is often said that if something must be done sooner or later, the sooner the better; however, it took me a while to identify my vocational calling because of a lack of clarity and direction. Being busy and money were the “calling blockers”, but it should not be an excuse for inaction!
The COVID-19 pandemic has given me time to re-think my career and life at that time. I realized that what I was doing was not enough and personally meaningful. With my life and work greatly disrupted and forced lockdowns keeping me at home, I had more spare time to start identifying my calling’s “puzzle pieces” and begin to act on it.
Life experiences, feedback from the Art & Design community and small business mentors subsequently helped me put all puzzle pieces together.
Finding your calling is not a race, and I do not want to feel rushed to avoid making costly mistakes along the way. I took and I keep taking sufficient time developing the strength and equipping myself with skills and resources needed for my LLC to become a stable and successful Art & Design business.

I believe that it is never too late to start your journey towards your life calling. I am more than ever convinced that the important thing is to take the first step!

Aurore, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Aurore Meleme is a contemporary artist, residential interior designer (RIDQC-certified) with multi-cultural roots – born in Paris France with Ivorian roots, raised in both countries. Aurore left Paris France in 2017, lived in Dublin Ireland from 2017 to 2021, and is currently based in the United States of America since 2021.

With experience in the French Fashion & Jewelry industries under her belt, Aurore made a transition into Visual Arts and Residential Interior Design. Aurore graduated from the New York Institute of Art & Design and RIDQC (Residential Interior Design Qualifying Certification). She launched Aurore Meleme, LLC in 2024.

Aurore Meleme produces and sells neo-surrealist and mixed media artwork, which celebrates nature and intends to invite viewers to the unexplored territories of the human psyche, are filled with a combination of high-quality materials, fabrics, genuine gemstones, and decorative tableware, to add an eclectic feel and stir up visual interest, while maintaining a sense of balance and harmony in her Three-Dimensional Artwork.

Aurore Meleme is also a Global Home Décor Retail online store, offering new treasure hunts with unique, exquisite & eco-friendly vintage, antiques, tableware, and crafts to transform your space, purchasing items from locations worldwide.

Lastly, Aurore Meleme provides residential interior design services, including full-service, partial services, interior design consultation, holiday decorating, styling, and full-service professional home staging.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the ways in which Art has the power to move us, the powerful interplay between Art, cultural identity & Design, and how fashion trends influence our home interiors. Being a nature lover and a native Parisian woman, I attempt to replicate the ‘Craftmanship Spirit’ and ‘Haute Couture’ principles in my mixed media Artwork, home décor catalog and residential interior design projects while keeping an eco-friendly mindset. I want my work to evoke positive emotions, to be perceived as the celebration of eclecticism, i.e., the beauty of merging different styles, influences, and high-quality and sustainable elements to create harmonious and captivating visual art pieces and home interiors, and ultimately bring you joy.”

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I produce 3-dimensional (3D) mixed media artwork on canvas. I use a wide variety of mediums, and glue a combination of high-quality materials, fabrics (e.g. genuine leathers), genuine gemstones, and decorative tableware (mostly Japanese dinnerware) into the mixed media.
Leather crafting process is frequently employed during the manufacturing process i.e., genuine leather is incorporated into some parts of the canvas. The presence of these high-quality materials is aiming at bringing elegance, style, luxury and elevating the artwork.

It can take up to 7 working days to produce a 3D mixed media artwork – i.e., from a sketch to a finished product – depending on the canvas size, the drawing, and the number of materials, fabrics to be carefully selected, cut (applicable to leather) and glued to the artwork.
This craft-level practice requires creativity, practiced skills, hard-won experience, and patience. I feel great satisfaction when I see positive emotions translated into a smile on the face of art viewers when scrutinizing one of my unique 3D pieces of art!

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?

Aurore Meleme is a brand and small business that sells and provides 3 different types of products and services:
• Artwork via a dedicated online retail store
• Home Decor products via a dedicated online retail store
• Residential interior design services.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.auroremeleme.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auroremeleme/
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Aurore Meleme