Collaborating with talented designers to create stunning pieces of functional art for your home spaces is an important part of what makes Cristae a leader in luxury home goods.
One of our first collaborations, with sculptor and designer Marie Khouri, resulted in the creation of the PL series, which has quickly become one of our star collections.
Marie Khouri
Marie Khouri is a Vancouver-based sculptor who was born in Egypt and raised in Lebanon, before attending the world-renowned Ecole du Louvre, where she was classically trained in the art of sculpting.
As a former interpreter by profession, Marie speaks five different languages and attributes aspects of her creativity and artistic inspiration to her connection with linguistics.
Marie loves to get up close and personal with her work, using traditional hands-on sculpting techniques, while striving to incorporate innovation in the form of contemporary designs and materials.
With over 25 public artworks on display internationally, and more held in numerous private collections, Khouri has established herself as a true talent.
In the year 2021, she was awarded l’Ordre National Du Merite by the government of France, in honor of her exceptional community engagement and successful international career.
Inspiration Behind The PL Series
The PL series was designed and developed by Marie Khouri herself, and has become one of the most popular collections currently available for purchase.
After living in Canada for over 15 years, Marie believes that her art style has become more organic and flowing, thanks to the natural beauty and stunning landscapes that the country has to offer.
The inspiration behind Marie’s creation of the planter series can be attributed in part to her time spent in Vancouver, British Columbia. Here, she has been surrounded by some of the most incredible mountainscape and oceanfront views on earth.
Every piece in this collection has been hand sculpted to feature natural, flowing curves and lines that are organically unique. Characteristics that correspond with the awe-inspiring backdrop that her Canadian home has had to offer.
Marie originally hand sculpted the shapes as maquettes - small scale models made from clay. From there, she used a 3D scanner to model each planter and scale them up to their intended size.
Finally, a pattern was created from styrofoam using a CNC machine, which was sculpted again and refined multiple times by hand, until the flowing curves were perfected.
Khouri has taken her exposure and experience with the natural beauty of British Columbia, and injected that creative inspiration into her sculpting. The PL series is a perfect example of how environment and design combine to create remarkable art.
Planters Suited For Any Space
We wanted our outdoor planters to be suitable for arrangements and spaces of any size. As a result, our luxury planter series features a variety of sizes to accommodate everything from bachelor apartments to multi-acre estates.
From our largest planter - the PL 160 - to our smallest model - the PL 60 mini - we have strategically created a size range that offers something for anyone and everyone.
The PL series has been designed to portray the organic flow of nature, and developed to work in harmony with virtually any space and aesthetic.
Take a closer look at the PL series by shopping our collections here!
