Aire went to meet Hugo Delavelle. This cabinetmaker creates wooden furniture. He works within the circular economy. In this interview, you will discover how, using local materials and an environmentally respectful approach, he develops design furniture. So we are talking about cabinetmaking and circular economy.
Can you introduce yourself briefly as well as your cabinetmaking and circular economy workshop?
My name is Hugo Delavelle, I am 37 years old. I am trained as a cabinetmaker and designer. I founded my company in 2009: Atelier Hugo Delavelle. I started as a sole proprietor, alone, in my parents' garage. After two years, I hired my first employee and changed the company status (SARL). Today, we are ten. We got a new workshop last year for cabinetmaking and circular economy.
How did you enter the world of cabinetmaking and circular economy?
Initially, I completed a CAP in cabinetmaking. For 10 years, I worked in various companies: cabinetmaking, furniture restoration, kitchens, fittings, contemporary cabinetmaking, traditional cabinetmaking, as well as artisanal and industrial.
The cabinetmaking workshops where I worked were making fewer and fewer pieces of furniture, or sometimes none at all. I looked for a way to address this. I identified design as a potential solution. So I went to Germany in 2007. I studied artisanal design there for two years. Then in 2009, I returned to France and created my cabinetmaking and circular economy company.
Can you explain your combination of traditional cabinetmaking know-how and circular economy?
Artisanal design is not very common in France. In Germany, there are about twenty schools that train artisans in design. I was at one of them in Aachen, at the Gut Rosenberg Academy. In France, the Boule school comes close. In France, the approach is much more focused on the craft itself. There is a strong artistic approach linked to materials and the artisan's know-how. But there is not the design approach, which is more functionalist, with concerns about economics, ergonomics, and industrial applications. So artisanal design combines the skills of an industrial designer, which we have in France, with craftsmanship.
I do everything: from furniture design to manufacturing. Despite the company growing, I haven’t changed the creative process. We emphasize know-how and not just form. This gives a creative field of expression that is a bit different from industrial designers proper, who often can create form for form’s sake, without necessarily knowing the ins and outs of the material that will then be worked on.
Exactly, could you elaborate a bit more on your creative process and your way of working?
Today, all the pieces we sell are pieces I have designed. We don’t really have a structured creative process like in industrial design, where marketing really gives a brief upfront. It’s a bit long and not necessarily very appealing. The designer then digests all this marketing data to create something appropriate. I have a bit more freedom.
If one morning I feel like designing a chair, I make a chair, without worrying about marketing. Even though we do think about it, of course. If I create a bar stool, I will create a high table to approach restaurateurs, for example. However, I have a great degree of freedom.
In my case, it is often the set of constraints I set myself that form the basis of the creative process. For example, the material if I have wood offcuts of a given size. It can also come from the desire to have a reduced environmental impact on the product.
The material, environmental impact, and functionality are constraints I try to address as favorably as possible. The intrinsic aesthetics of the product often result from ergonomic constraints, materials, material economy, and environmental impact.
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Do you have an eco-responsible approach?
It is truly at the core of our entire approach. The CSR aspect, minimizing the impact of the product, the process, and the company in a broad sense is what underpins the approach.
How do you define your profession, and what qualities are required?
I became a manager somewhat by necessity. We have about ten employees, with much larger financial stakes. We have a turnover of around one million euros. We have just acquired a more industrial building with 4000m2 on a large 25,000m2 platform.
Now, I have more of a manager role than a cabinetmaker or designer. The time I spend on design and woodworking each week is currently less. There are many management, administrative, and marketing tasks to do. In my case, you need good adaptability and a desire to take on challenges. You have to learn a new skill almost every day.
Do you think your profession will have to reinvent itself? Especially with the pandemic we are going through?
Not particularly, no. I don’t think it will change much in the long term. We work with local wood, with local players, and sawyers who are true partners. When I started, we sawed our own wood ourselves. We plan to create our own sawmill to be able to buy wood from the town’s forest and do the first transformation.
We will work in a circular economy and locally. This approach of circular economy and artisanal work rather than industrial production means we are less impacted than those who produce furniture with components from all over the world.
What is the “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” label that you received?
It’s a label awarded by the state that recognizes companies with “exceptional know-how.” The goal is to promote them in France and abroad. It is supported by the National Institute of Artistic Crafts. You have to submit an application and prove your expertise.
It’s a guarantee for the people we want to work with, especially for architects and designers for whom we create fine woodworking or unique pieces, particularly abroad. It’s proof of our expertise.
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