’Palimpsestes’ by Le Penher’

For many people “French” is synonymous with style, fashion and design. Yet the country’s well-established craft tradition, which supports those who help create its stylish, fashionable image, is perhaps less well known. France has an estimated 20,000 craft-based companies – a thriving sector compared with its counterparts, who are suffering decline in many other countries. Techniques are still passed down the generations in family-run ateliers, boosted by a historic commitment to apprenticeships, while new participants are finding appreciative audiences for their fresh, contemporary work.

“Crafts are the DNA of the country’s culture,” says Giles Hutchinson Smith, chief executive of Mallett, the New York- and London-based fine antiques specialist, and the man behind Meta, the company’s contemporary design business. “While craft traditions are evaporating in the UK they are still very much respected in France. The country has an extraordinary variety of talent in the decorative arts and there’s a sense of pride about it moving down the generations.”

Networking is the French crafts community’s life-blood. As Rabih Hage, the French owner of the eponymous London gallery, puts it: “Every profession is like a small village, with insider information passed around the network.” So when Hutchinson Smith needed specialists for Meta he contacted École Boulle, the Paris-based school of applied arts and crafts, and commissioned Patrick Blanchard, the school’s head of sculpture, to make the bronze tree inside Tord Boontje’s now famous fig-leaf wardrobe. Similarly, when he needed a hidden locking device for Boontje’s armoire he contacted the Maurice et Noémie de Rothschild Fondation pour l’Art, which directed him to Alain de Saint Exupéry, a Terrasson-based specialist in 17th- and 18th-century furniture locks.

Nor is it difficult for industry “outsiders” to find specialists. Ateliers d’Art, a French federation for professional craftspeople founded in 1868, represents about 1,500 practitioners of 200 different skills. In addition to offering advice and training, it has two boutiques in Paris selling furniture, decorative objects, lighting and tableware made by its members and runs the Collection gallery in Paris, which focuses on contemporary design. Under the “CreatedinFrance” banner it also showcases French talent at trade fairs in Europe, Japan and the US with backing from the French Ministry for Foreign Trade. Its website (www.ateliersdart.com) has a directory of members.

Another reason for France’s flourishing crafts scene is the support offered by national federations and guilds representing each craft. “There’s a long tradition of confraternity and the federations are very active in preserving standards and keeping crafts alive,” says Hage.

But, while online networking and referral from a guild have their advantages, the most enjoyable way to track down French craftspeople is by visiting their studios by appointment. Below is a selection of ateliers producing some of the most imaginative, contemporary designs.

Translucides

Door and panels by Translucides

Jean-Michel Letellier and Miki Nakamura have updated traditional Japanese paper screens for contemporary interiors with their gorgeous, handmade papiers d’ombres (translucent paper with abstract designs) while their papiers végétaux are encased within laminated glass or acrylic panels for use as doors, sliding partitions, fixed panels, table-tops, counters, shelving and even LED-lit floor panels. The diffusion of light through the paper creates a serene atmosphere while its textural qualities create a modern look that is highly suited to contemporary interiors. “We were inspired by the concept of Japanese paper houses, which filter daylight so beautifully,” says Letellier.

The couple sell their products through interior designers, their glass partner, Passage (www.passage-porte.com), and their acrylic partner, Dacryl (www.dacryl.fr).
www.translucides.fr

Atelier Le Penher

Guillaume and Sophie Le Penher have created design’s answer to contemporary art. Their “Palimpsestes” are framed, glass-covered wall-panels made from a mix of printed baryta paper (barium sulphate gelatine-coated paper used for black-and-white photography) and sections of knotted ash and maple. The result is a thoroughly modern-looking abstract design. “We were inspired by contemporary painting but the technique is also reminiscent of photography and marquetry,” says Guillaume.

Working from their studio in Nantes, they also tackle bespoke commissions, such as a triangular glass-topped kitchen bar for a Michelin-starred chef’s residence and a shower with moulded glass motifs for a professional footballer’s bathroom.
www.atelier-lepenher.com

Proto-form

Lamp by Proto-form

The partnership between Virginie Leliepvre, a master glazier, and Eric Sanchez, a blacksmith, sculptor and photographer, generates highly innovative furniture and lighting. “Proto-form creations combine two ancient arts: glass and metal under fire,” says Sanchez, 39, who welds salvaged steel with a blowtorch before scrubbing, sanding and varnishing the surfaces, adding ball joints, springs, gear wheels, bearings and even tractor seats to reference an agro-industrial past within these contemporary designs. “The materials and our skills complement each other by uniting the heavy and hard metal with the softness and lightness of glass,” says Leliepvre, 35.

“Nothing is planned in advance; improvisation plays an important part,” says Sanchez, while Leliepvre adds: “I work in an impulsive way with the texture, colour and transparency of the glass.”

This explains the dream-like quality of the work. Lanterns with richly coloured glass shades, supported by elaborate black metalwork, have an almost medieval quality yet make an eye-catching focus in a contemporary interior.

The work is sold through galleries including Rabih Hage in London and FG Design in Paris and at various exhibitions.

FM&B AFL

Table by FM&B AFL

“L’Atelier du metal” is the description that Brigitte Mazuir and Jean-Marc Gimello give their studio at Saint-Sauveur Lendelin, Normandy, which specialises in turning steel, aluminium, brass, stainless steel with epoxy coating and other raw materials, such as oak or concrete, into stylishly minimal furniture and lighting.

Their designs are available at showrooms internationally and they accept bespoke commissions. “[Designer] Mary Fox Linton recently asked us to redesign and produce a floor lamp from our Grande Soeur range, ordering 150 for a Beirut hotel,” says Gimello. “And bespoke consoles were ordered by the interior architect for Hotel du Cheval Blanc in Courchevel owned by Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH.”

www.fm-b-afl.com

Steven Edrich

Solid wenge and stainless steel chair by Steven Edrich

Furniture hand-made from solid wood “has its own personality,” says Loire-based Steven Edrich. “With the passing of time it will grow in beauty and character and can be handed down the generations.” Edrich, 52, designs and makes contemporary pieces to individual commission using traditional techniques including hand-cut details, dovetailed joints, marquetry and inlays. He also makes bespoke jewellery boxes designed with customised internal layouts.

A stand-out design is his solid wenge cabinet on legs with sycamore interior and door panels richly decorated by artist Alain Plouvier, using slate, painted paper, antique beads, fold resin and black paint. Although made speculatively, Edrich has already sold two similar pieces and is now working on a co-ordinating console table.

The studio is open by appointment although commissions have also been carried out successfully for clients in the US, UK and Denmark via phone, e-mail and Skype video-calls.
www.stevenedrichfinefurniture.com