A French studio with an English name? It all started in 1996 when Lionel Avignon lived in Kilburn, north-west London, sharing a house-cum-studio, the original ‘Hartland Villa’, with creative types such as  Blinkk, Anton Andrews, Ian Williams, Jean-Christophe Husson  and Benjamin Lignel.When Lionel moved back to Paris in 1999 he took the name with him, hooking up in 2001 with Stefan de Vivies, who, after several years spent between Poland and South America, was ready to formalise their partnership begun in 1994 at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris.

The photographer and illustrator, Elene Usdin, has shared the studio with them since 2002, often as a collaborator; she was responsible for much of the imagery in their work for the Opéra National du Rhin.

Mélanie Gautry, who joined the team in 2004, is in charge of art direction on their numerous editorial projects.

At Hartland Villa, we have something of an open-house policy, with various photographers, designers, illustrators, writers and directors participating in our projects, including Benjamin Lignel (jewellery and furniture design), Cecilia Garroni Parisi (photography), Sophie Bouxom (illustration), Sandra de Vivies (written word), Arnaud Farré (graphic design) and Nicolas Binet (web design, including this site) - these friendships have always provided a platform for the creative energy which we feel is one of our strengths, and long may they continue.

Lionel Avignon and Stefan de Vivies also work on their own artistic projects outside of Hartland Villa: you will find Lionel’s drawings projects & "ici il fait encore beau" publication on lionelavignon.com, and Stefan’s "Supporter" project on lesupporter.com.