The Woman Behind Your Rich Friend’s Coffee Table Books

Photo Credit: via The Cut; Photo: Emilia Brandao

Luxury book editor Martine Assouline doesn’t tend to look back. But to celebrate 30th anniversary of his family business, Assouline — known for its stylish, classy tomes covering everything from the life of Roger Federer to the yachts of Saint-Tropez — has made an exception. Idea for Assouline by Assouline, A limited edition book about the origins of the publishing company and many partners, comes from his son, Alexandre, who joined the family business in 2016, twenty years after that his parents started it together in the basement of their apartment in Paris. Martine worked in fashion consulting at Rochas, and her husband, Prosper, owned an advertising agency. Their first book, about La Colombe d’Or, the couple’s favorite hotel in the south of France, was meant to be a one-time project. Prosper took all the photos and Martine wrote the text.

Today, Assoulines publishes more than 100 books a year and counts 18 stores and more than 30 stores worldwide, where its main coffee table books start at around $100 but can go up to $15,000 for extra special editions. More Assouline properties are in the works, such as a restaurant and shop in Riyadh. These days, as the editor-in-chief of Assouline, Martine spends a lot of time looking for writers, managing the company’s editorial projects, sifting through piles of research images, and overseeing a series of trips and famous company. She lives in midtown Manhattan with her husband, but travels frequently. Here’s how he does it.

In his morning routine:
A typical morning is six o’clock – very strong coffee and one hour of silence and reading. Then I eat: bananas, blueberries, or whatever I have that day. Not much. Then I walk to the office and arrive between 8:30 and 9. I like to have my time in the morning. That’s why, no matter what, I like to get up early and have time to show up. After that, it’s like an Olympic sprint between meetings and emails. So the day goes by very quickly.

On his typical work day: I try to have two different parts of the work. One is completely created, so I must be one. I try to make the music very separate, because it is difficult to separate when you are in a creative company, where everyone is: I got that or There is a problem here, blah, blah, blah. So, the door is closed and the music. Partly, I would say it’s 50-50, I work with my teams.

I start by trying to find a good writer for this topic. That means someone who knows but also loves learning and writes very well. When I find writers that are good for us, I like to keep them. I made my own books at first. Now I don’t have time to write. The last one I did was really hell. It was a book to mark 30 years of Assouline. I wanted to thank all those people, our colleagues, who are very important to us.

By working with the family:
It’s not easy. I talked to my sister-in-law a few months ago, who is a very good professional. He wanted, and my son – they wanted to start working together, because he has a very good mind and can help us a lot. But they asked, Hmm, is it good to be a newlywed and work together with parents? Because my son, Alexandre, knows that it is not easy to have parents – it is a clash of generations. I was very clear. I said, “No, it’s not easy.” But the important thing is that there is hope. Trust is everything when you work hard. You want someone you know in front of you who tells you everything – the bad and the good. There is no fear. There is no double talk.

To a degree, I think for me and Prosper, it’s been a strength to work together. When you have a problem to solve or a new idea, you don’t need to have a meeting. It can be dangerous, because sometimes you move too fast and you can make mistakes. But in the end, I like to create something with a family.

Balancing work and personal life with her partner and husband, Prosper:
When you’re in the creative business, it never stops. In the beginning and even then, sometimes, we didn’t know how to have meetings to decide on a project or not. It was like we were having lunch together: Oh, I had this thought. Or Oh, I found this person, they’re great, why don’t we make a book about them? But the truth is that it is very difficult not to be there all the time. At some point, somebody’s going to say, “Stop it,” you know, with little determination. But for example, when we are in a taxi at the end of the day, we don’t talk. If we have things to ask each other, we do it by email. We are tired, so by email we can answer if we want.

Self-esteem:
My first big fear was the first book. It was La Colombe d’Or. It was finished, and we sent it to the press. Then my friend asked me, “What did you do with the rights?” I said, “Rights? What are the rights?” He said, “La Colombe d’Or is full of Picasso, Matisse, Miró, everything, and you have to ask about rights and representatives.” I was completely destroyed. I said, I am going to hell; the world ends with me. But it was a long time ago. I was able to find everyone, I told my story, and we were successful. But today, I have to say that I no longer have fear when I write a book or try something new. On the contrary. I am strong; it’s a taste of challenge.

On his future aspirations:
I am trying to find courses that I would like to do, which are already available in the Assouline world. For example, the book about Roger Federer was very different from ours. Roger did not want to write a book or his memoir. He wanted something light, and it was very interesting trying to get him to express what he wanted to say.

About managing stress:
I am allergic to stress. When I’m in the office, when I start to feel overwhelmed, I close the door. Then I go stretch or take a big, long shower. Or I take a pill to sleep for a long, long night. I don’t know how to meditate. But I train with a trainer on video. He is in Lebanon, and he is a very good coach. That’s great twice a week. And, when I can, I work with music to give myself strength. With coffee, energy, and good music – it’s a great way to have a positive, optimistic attitude. Prosper showed me that when you have a big plan, there is a second big plan. Because if the first one doesn’t happen – or it’s complicated or difficult or whatever – your mind will be without the second one.

How he relaxes after work:
Just a glass of Bordeaux, a fine line, and a cigarette.

To the people who help him do it:
My assistant. He thinks about me in all private things: trips, meetings, events, everything. You are amazing. He’s also the chairman of the board of the Paris Brain Institute, and there’s a guy named Jean-Christian Agid who really opens things up for me. It takes a lot of time, and it’s very new.