It may happen that a vocation is born at the age of games and hopscotches, when everything sparkles and marvels; Marielle’s calling sprang up at the time when the little girl experienced her first television awakening in front of a fruity commercial: “I can still see myself fascinated by that drink, and the little adventurer who had to escape a crocodile in the hallway of his own house!” Beyond this sketch, she already perceived, hidden beneath the reptilian haphazard fray, a whimsical dimension that would guide her way. After teenage years with the idea of being a photographer, then a few years in the legal lands and a master’s degree in international business completed à la cool, it was during a conversation in Ireland that she discovered Roubaix’s famous advertising school. In a fortuitous way, the evocation of Sup de Création unlocked memories of that plastic animal, and the one who considered herself a “pure product of the capital” headed north: “We were a bunch of Parisians, all a bit naive, arriving in a city where we knew no one. Of course, it forged bonds!” In an atmosphere conducive to emulation, while cultivating her baroque impulses, Marielle came to grips with graphic design software, discovering the subtleties of color choices and typographies: “Apart from my childhood dreams, when I arrived, I had nothing, and I knew nothing! I received very concrete, amazing training, with real briefs and real clients. In a field where the chosen ones are a happy few, Sup de Création gave my life direction!” Soon after earning her master’s degree in advertising, Marielle was able to rely on a network of alumni to get her foot in the door, people that mobilized without asking, with guidance galore.

Following a last internship in a Parisian structure, the penniless student who worked nights in a fast-food restaurant was directly recruited — “it was the Grail!” Taking a first step in this microcosm, she worked for fifteen years in various companies according to her inspirations; flamboyant with her “sometimes crazy” ardor, she dared, and for a visual, went so far as to break a mirror into a thousand splinters in order to present a vodka brand’s bottle from every angle: “People say that in my field, it’s easy to have ideas. Not only is that not true, but it’s also important to know how to apply them.” Quickly having made a name for herself, Marielle multiplied campaigns under many banners, some of which would leave a mark on the collective imagination; during a family reunion, she was able to see, as the background of her brother-in-law’s computer screen, a poster she’d designed for SOS Sahel: “I can say that I have participated in popular culture!” But tired of the turnover that is customary to the sector, and eager to join the “advertiser’s side,” Marielle submitted an application to become Creative Director of a start-up specialized in dental monitoring that would experience an “exceptional expansion.” However, having been accustomed to references being the key — “generally, one is solicited by virtue of one’s notoriety within the microcosm” — before taking part in revolutionizing orthodontics alongside the future unicorn, Marielle worked on writing her very first CV, and then passing four job interviews in due form.

From then on, she has been working on more transversal functions, from the launch of product presentation campaigns to the creation of brand identities, with all that this entails at the global level — “it’s proof that outside the agencies, one can continue to be inventive! In fact, since we work hand in hand with them, for me, things have come full circle!” Now stabilized in her position, she remains concerned about “passing on the torch,” and maintains the tradition that is so dear to her school: “We have set up a group on the networks with the alumni of Sup de Création, and when I am looking for candidates, it is a reflex to think of the current classes’ students. I’m very much a team player!” And if in the prelude to her career, this culture lover aspired to international prizes, big companies and skyscrapers above all, she currently wishes to refocus on the essential: “What is important to me is to put my energy into what is meaningful. When I started, I was way too stressed about my future.” She now knows that “everything happens in its own time,” and as it does, Marielle has realized that across all she’s learned, there is one universal rule — “keep cool!”