Christophe Jaulin and Mariel Hautoux, founders of Art & Maison                                Mariel was born in the South of France to a French mother and a Cameroonian father.   Jean Christophe was born in Algeria to French parents. They met many years later in Paraguay (where he had been working for 11 years as a gaucho.) Mariel gave up a career in advertising in Paris with Young & Rubicam and instead went to Barcelona to train in tile work at the Gaudi School. She then spent a year "travelling around and discovering things," one of which was Christophe. He says, "I met Mariel and my life changed." (Goodbye to 5,000 cattle on 50,000 acres - hello vie artistique!)   In 1998 they moved to Palm Beach and founded Art & Maison, making concrete countertops and mosaic pieces. They then moved to the Little River area in Miami and began doing commissions, one of which was a mosaic mural in collaboration with the great Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrie. Hence, their reputation skyrocketed leading to a project with notable French architect Jacques Garcia to create the charcoal gray concrete castings in all of the Hotel Victor's 95 rooms as well as the maginificent mosaic-tiled swimming pool. Since, they have grown to be the company they are today offering a full catalogue of artiisanal quality products to the luxury market worldwide.