Aire met with Margot, co-founder of Ripaton. This French company creates responsible furniture and table legs. Between French production and fighting waste, discover how the brand designs and creates aesthetic and environmentally friendly products.
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
My name is Margot, I’m 31 years old. I am co-founder of the brand Ripaton. We created it with my partner six years ago. I went to business school. I studied international business, marketing, and then specialized in entrepreneurship and business management. After that, I worked for DELL. Then, I quickly launched Ripaton with my partner.
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What does Ripaton mean and what do you produce in responsible furniture?
Ripaton means leg in Old French. Originally, the idea came because we wanted to makeover our coffee table. We were looking for legs that were quite simple and stylish. We liked the Hairpin Legs model, that famous pin-shaped leg often found in England or the United States. But it was impossible to find any in France. So we thought we should try to make some and put them on our coffee table. We have a craftsman friend who helped us. Then, all our friends thought it was really cool, so we thought maybe there was something to do.
We realized that many people were also looking for these kinds of legs. So we made a small series of legs that we initially sold on Etsy. It worked very well. We then decided to continue. We started producing a bit more, and the enthusiasm led us to set up our workshop. Today, we are a French brand that manufactures and sells table legs and other accessories that allow you to create your own responsible furniture.
Can we say that you entered the world of responsible furniture by chance?
We both attended business school. Tom was in web development and I was in commerce. Nothing destined us to create a metal workshop to make furniture and table legs. It happened gradually. There was a strong enthusiasm for the brand from the start. This pushed us to develop and grow quite rapidly. Today, our company sells throughout Europe. We have about fifteen models of legs, as well as clothing racks, wall supports, and shelves. The company now has about twenty employees.
Can you describe your creative process and your way of working?
We analyze the needs we might have as well as those of our customers. That’s how we got the idea to create a table leg for the first time and Ripaton was born. For example, if we want to make a dining table, we ask ourselves what kind of leg we would like to see. We always try to think with current trends and shapes we like. We also think in terms of ergonomics.
We also try to find functionalities for the product. For example, we can add adjustable pads. We increasingly cooperate with our customers. That means we ask them a lot. We question them about what they like in terms of shape, color, and materials, and we identify their needs. This gives us many answers and helps us in the product creation process. Then we have the prototyping phase, where we produce, try, and test the products. Before launching a product, we send it to some of our customers so they can test it and give us feedback on what they think of the item. If their experience is positive, then we will launch production and market the product.
How do you define your job, and what qualities are required?
In general, at Ripaton we are artisans 2.0. We have modernized traditional metalworking by bringing in web digitalization. We sell our products online and adopt digital manufacturing practices. Our brand is sustainable and responsible. Our production is French and thoughtful. Everything is made in our workshop in Montpellier.
Regarding my job, as a co-founder, I have to be a Swiss army knife. We handle all the tasks in-house. So we have production, logistics, product design, communication, web development, and sales. We need to be strong and expert in all these areas because we don’t outsource at all. My partner and I share the roles. I work on administration, sales, and communication. My partner focuses more on logistics, production, and web development.
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