Summer Force by Emma Renaudin
Have you ever felt more connected on a getaway hundreds of miles away from home than in your own living room?
Summer Force is an illustrated poem by writer and brand specialist Emma Renaudin for Odissea. With each Odissea order, you will receive a postcard featuring the “Summer Force” poem and picture, to share with someone special or to cherish as a memento of these summer memories.
Whether it's the touch of the sun and water, the embrace of love or the pleasure of laziness and wanderlust, some getaways, short or long, make us more aligned with the world. These moments don’t just pass, they shape our hearts and inspire our minds for another year around the sun. Odissea's pieces of jewelry, inspired by the changes in fortune from Homer's "Odyssey," serve as travel companions that encapsulate cherished summer memories for the whole year.
Getting to know Emma a little bit better over a couple of chilled reds at Casetta it sparked an interest within me to understand
the free spirited, blond, rockstar looking frenchie I was exchanging points of view with. There’s something magical about getting to know people one on one - you open the door to the realness within them, not the idea you have of bumping into each other here and there. After a while chatting over our chilled
reds, in a hot July Summer night - it became obvious that she is a very sensitive person. Our debate on the Amazon Monopoly along with some of our romance anecdotes, (quite a combo!) felt like our conversation was becoming a genuine debate, where controversies and opinions seemed to embrace into a new topic on the table.
This is Summer Force… meet Emma Renaudin.
O: What is your everyday inspiration? Is it small things of your mundane day to day?
E: People I interact with and content I consume - music, books, exhibits, articles, movies, social media... I can be pretty obsessional about certain things and in particular about people. Every week has its own rabbit hole type of obsession…
O: What was your intention in creating this interactive story? Sending love postcards to a loved one
E: The idea came from talking with Nathalie. There is such a contrast between the sweetness and poetry in the act of sending a postcard - which requires effort, intention and some kind of logistics - and what is actually written in the card, that is often cute but sometimes a bit plain, because this is a difficult exercise in disguise. It’s also a gesture that could have disappeared completely from our lives because there are more immediate and intuitive ways of communicating with a loved one anywhere in the world, but for some reason, people keep sending postcards. I also feel that sending a song, a book, or a poem is a great way to express a connection to someone when we are lacking words. I wish that, maybe, the Summer Force postcard could serve as a messenger to carry a message to a special someone…
O: Summer Force, your poem depicts a summer romance, one of those we all forget about in our day to day lives. Where did you find inspiration for this story
E: Do we forget about those romances? I hope not! The poem does touch on the idea of a shared moment of love, but it’s also about a very intimate personal experience of growth. Sometimes, we need a total change of scenery to have new perspectives that feel right, and to understand what’s been there, in us or around us the whole time.
O: What do you think makes New York so special?
E: The people who live there! Everyone is so determined to make the most out of the city, whatever form it may take. Also, there’s always something fun going on.
O: What is your “Wow, this is so NY”
E: It happens a lot! There’s this coffee shop in the East Village, they scream at every living soul in the place when the coffee’s ready, and you better quickly get it, I’m not even talking about the poor first-timers who dare ask for anything else than whole milk. After going almost every day for like 6 months, they still pretended that they didn’t know me. When I came back from France after a month, they said “How are you? It’s been a while!” I loved that.
O: Growing up in Paris, it seems like you dreamed of a bigger picture, a bigger world. Do you think you’ve found that?
E: Growing up and living in Paris was amazing and I feel very lucky for this. During my teenage years, I was daydreaming about life in NYC a lot. It has so much history, some of my biggest idols have lived there and expanded as artists in this city. I love going back to those places where important milestones of my favorite artists happened. I told you about the rabbit hole obsessions…
I had dreams and aspirations that I believed had a better chance of coming true in New York. I guess it’s a cliché, but I was attracted by the irresistible sense of freedom and endless opportunities of this city.
O: When traveling, do you have any specific things that you do so that it makes you feel better? For instance, not going to the typical touristy restaurant everyone recommends you to go, but rather scouting the place and seeking for a charming old drunks spot?
E: I like a trip that has a little bit of everything: the super beautiful designer hotel, the tacky restaurant, the local bar where you don’t understand a thing, the amazing museum, the local villages and the 4-hour long tanning-swimming-reading session. I’m always attracted by all the fun and discovery big cities have to offer, but road trips have a sweet spot in my heart. Everyone seems to love hiking, which I’m not exactly sure why.
O: Do you remember any summer fling or story that gives you a nostalgic feeling that you’d like to share?
E: Of course! I love summer flings, it’s the best thing. Sometimes, thinking about it gives me sweet cringy feelings though…
O: What feelings, smells, colors, things do you associate with summer ?
E: There’s a lot but I think the best one is the heat of the sun making my skin dry from salty water.
O: What is a summer must for you?
E: A summer soundtrack: songs that take you back to these moments.
O: What is the next destination you have in mind?
E: I just moved to Mexico City for a few months and going to an Ecuadorian wedding in November, we’ll see how it goes…
O: What is your favorite odissea piece?
E: All the Milano rings have a special place in my heart because my brother and I wear the same one every day. I also love the Cha Cha Choker, definitely was a travel companion of mine this summer in the French Riviera.
Well that’s all y’all! We’d love to see this collab flying around the world telling someone special what they mean for you and that you think about them. Send them off, traveling and send us pictures - we’d love to see the ventures and the places they end up at!
