Philosophy
“Rare walnut, pure design, artisan craftsmanship: happy objects, unique and full of emotion, that will endure through time and generations.”
Walnut, in its two expressions
Our raw material of choice is walnut, in its two expressions: black walnut (Juglans nigra), with dramatic figure and deep colours, and European walnut (Juglans regia), lighter in tone. The wood we use comes from sustainably managed forests in the Périgord and the Dauphiné, and from Europe or south-eastern Canada for black walnut.
The walnut tree embodies the passing on of knowledge and the bond between generations. A symbol of wisdom, strength and longevity, it was traditionally planted near houses to bring prosperity. Its wood, noble and increasingly rare, has been used since the Middle Ages in fine cabinetmaking, and also in shipbuilding, for its dimensional stability and structural strength.
Its colour — from chocolate brown to purple, with magnificent highlights — offers a wealth of shades that bring warmth and understated luxury. Its exceptionally fine, straight grain makes it a wood as pleasing to the eye as to the touch.
The craft approach offers a luxury no industrial maker can afford: choosing, on the ground, the finest trees, the finest logs, the finest wood.
A deliberate timelessness
Our aim is to give pleasure. Pleasure to the eye. Pleasure to the touch. The pleasure of being well surrounded. Furniture for a lifetime, that makes you feel at home.
The constant obsession is restraint, elegance and clean lines. Neither classic, nor contemporary, nor modern. Timeless. A timelessness born of the balance between the nobility of the material, the purity of line and the rightness of proportion. Our creations do not seek to be “of their time” but to outlast it. And like all design, influenced by designers and artistic movements, Japanese and American in particular.
After an initial design on paper, a prototype is made, which evolves as it is placed in context. A slow, 100% manual maturing, in real conditions. The very opposite of computer-aided design.
The antithesis of mass production
Once again, the craft approach is unique in that it allows us, for each piece, to select slabs and quarters from within a log, which, once sawn, surfaced, worked and assembled, will form a harmonious whole, a truly unique and original work.
The antithesis of mass production, a one-of-a-kind piece, known as a “private production”, becomes a happy object, charged with emotional value, born from a designer's imagination and a master cabinetmaker's hands.
Traditional joinery — mortise and tenon, dovetails, pegs, butterfly keys — ensures time-honoured strength and reveals the craftsman's skill.
Every piece of furniture is made entirely by hand in our workshops, and the final, often underestimated stage consists of several coats of tung oil, applied with 72 hours' rest and meticulous denibbing between each. This natural, durable finish is demanding and takes time, but it nourishes the walnut deep down and reveals its grain and beauty. The wood breathes, takes on a patina, lives, and offers that incomparable softness beneath the hand.
Pieces leaving Les Ateliers Vau Fontaine are stamped, signed, numbered and accompanied by a certificate of origin.
A short story of a structural butterfly key
Rosewood inlaid into a black walnut top — in four steps.
