Timber & Venice

A Unique Collaboration

By Hend Seif El Din

Courtesy of www.jeanmarcgady.com and www.fort-royal.com

The designer, who is one of my personal favorites, and Fort Royal have come together in a unique partnership to create a stunning collection of furniture, all crafted by the finest French artisans, which presented at the “Revelations” fair at the Grand Palais, in Paris during the month of September, 2013.

Fort Royal’s purpose is to bring together renowned craftsmen acknowledged by their peers as the best in their trade, in an effort to offer enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike privileged access to exceptional works of craftsmanship.

Innovation, discipline, authenticity, precision, and an incredible dose of passion are the essential characteristics underlining the work of the team at Fort Royal.

According to Fort Royal, “the idea of collaborating with Jean-Marc Gady came to (them) effortlessly.” The result is a collection designed by Jean Marc Gady, created by wood, glass and metal artisans’ of Craman-Lagarde, Simon-Marq and Crézé, and edited by Fort Royal.

As for Gady, he states “for too long we have considered that the most beautiful expression of the crafts can only be manifested through the intricate and great decorative styles of the past, while their existence cannot be justified in the asceticism and minimalism of contemporary design. The work undertaken in this beauti­ful collection shows the exact opposite. Each piece proves that craftsmanship is perfectly suited for contemporary creation, at least when the systematic purification of decorative aspects is disregarded, and when emotion is expressed.”

The Timber collection, designed by Gady and produced by Craman-Lagarde for Fort Royal, celebrates the intrinsic beauty of wood and of the arduous processes that entail its transformation, and is composed of pieces that are the perfect balance between the natural and the precious. This range embodies the harmonious metamorphosis of organic materials into unique designs by the intervention of an artisan.

This collection includes a chest of drawers, a coffee table, a Hawaiian long board inspired bench, and a side table. A perfect marriage of fluid shapes and different wood veneers, as exemplified in this retro looking chest of drawers. To create this piece, a piece of wood has been sliced thus revealing the natural wood’s unique markings. Four concealed drawers are accessible from the front.

The Venice bench, also designed by Gady and produced by Craman-Lagarde for Fort Royal, is inspired by the shapes and exotic woods used in Hawaiian long boards. This exceptional piece of cabinetry has been created to comply with the expertise of the best surfboard “shapers.”