Myrbor was not going as well as Marie expected, despite purchases and support from rich clients and friends such as Helena Rubenstein, or its presence at prestigious shows such as the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels. Picking up the modernist, pared-down style of her times, she transformed her shop and shifted her focus to interior design, devoting herself to painting and tapestry from 1929 on. She showed works by Fernand Léger, Jean Lurçat, and Picasso. Meanwhile, she was already thinking ahead, extending her scope to contemporary tapestry, "an art form that must not go to waste," and that could be produced at the iconic Aubusson workshops. The beginnings were not easy, since she had to earn the favor of the Aubusson weavers–quite unused to requests of this kind–and also the trust of the artists, who were reluctant to have their works reproduced and hence lose control of the process. But Marie was impassioned, sure of her idea, and extremely demanding about its execution. Her instructions were precise, submitted along with technical drawings. She had a penchant for perfect workmanship and her rigor did the rest. As a consequence, she managed to convince artists such as Dufy, Lurçat, Rouault, Picasso, Miró, Matisse, Léger, and Le Corbusier to work on the project. In 1914, at the outset of the war, Jean Lurçat foresaw that tapestry as a form of reproducing paintings–as it had been practiced since the 18th century–was an aberration, and that they had to recover the former technique. He was unable to pay for the craftsmen, so his first attempts were simple embroideries executed on canvas by his mother or by himself. But these trials were enough to make him reduce his range of colors and simplify the work. His expressed interest in the Aubusson workshops was critical for the revival of these tapestry works, solely devoted to reproducing paintings until then. The artist's encounter with Marie Cuttoli offered a wonderful opportunity for the two of them.
Marie requested tapestry cartoons from her favorite painters, but the results were disappointing: with few exceptions, the artists sent paintings instead of cartoons. However, even with these submissions, the project finally took off. The leading artists of the time started showing interest in tapestry. The workshops became her main focus in life and her collaboration with Aubusson was highly productive.
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Summary