Eileen Gray is born in 1878 in Ireland. At 20, she studied the painting at the Slade School in London and went often to the Victoria & Albert Museum. At this occasion, she discovered the Asian lacquers. Her taste for these lacquered objects, with uncountable layers, became an obsession. Then, she asked to be part of the restorer workshop of Dean Charles.
In 1900, the young student discovered Paris at the occasion of the Universal Exhibition. Two years after, she decided to set in Paris. She went to the Colarossi and Julian Academy. When she met Seizo Sugawara in 1907, Eileen Gray was seven-years her senior and had already the skill of the lacquer.