Six Questions to Jean-Louis Deniot...

Why the name Quai d’Orsay?

JLD: It’s first and foremost a reference to foreign affairs and France’s relations with the rest of the world. It indicates that, even though the collection is in essence French, it is truly intended to serve an international audience. I imagine all these objects in different interior contexts, where they can adapt and bring a kind of French seasoning, a French refinement, and a form of French eccentricity too.

It’s also a nice coincidence that my offices are located on Quai d’Orsay. I love the serenity offered by the boats that sail by while I’m in the middle of a meeting, as well as the grandeur of the Alexandre III Bridge, which is literally right in front of my eyes. I know my clients are delighted to come there.

What is the concept behind the brand?

JLD: First of all, it’s not a decorator’s ego trip. The idea is for me to be the first ‘guest designer,’ but for there to be others. It’s more of a furniture editor than a simple showcase for myself. It’s a house placed at the service of clients and interior designers, so they can make the objects their own, change their finishes, make them more chameleon-like and allow them to bring that certain je-ne sais-quoi to their interiors.

The concept is to be able to purchase one, two or three objects, and then mix them with other pieces. I also wanted to respond to quite specific requests by offering certain types of furniture, like nightstands and dressing tables, which my own project managers have difficulty finding, given how rare they are on the market.

Your interiors are rooted in the tradition of French decorative arts. How does this first collection for Quai d’Orsay fit into that heritage?

JLD: There’s a real relationship to time—a relationship to the present and future, while at the same time taking into account the past. The best example is the Orsay chair, which is a reinterpretation of the Louis XVI medallion-back chair. It’s been revisited numerous times in the past­—in the Thirties and Forties by designers like Arbus, Ruhlmann and Groult. It was also one of Christian Dior’s symbols and Philippe Starck reworked it in plastic in 2002 with the Louis Ghost chair.

When I created the collection for Quai d’Orsay, I wanted to pay tribute to all that history while remaining firmly rooted in the present. I asked myself what a medallion-back chair should look like today. I tried to use a minimum of material with a real focus on the silhouette. It’s like a sort of cutout or miniature architecture with arches in the legs. For me, it was also important that it be both comfortable and beautiful from the back, because that’s generally the first part of a dining chair you see. You feel there’s a certain formality to it, while at the same time being pretty playful in spirit.

Many decorators and designers are turning to craftsmanship today. What is Quai d’Orsay’s relationship with savoir faire ?

JLD: Our aim is to work with artisans, who preserve ancestral gestures and a genuine heritage. We collaborate with one of the oldest French manufacturers, which produced the work of iconic designers like André Arbus and Jacques Adnet, and notably created furniture for the legendary ocean liner, Le Normandie, in the Thirties.

Among the many materials we are exploring, our artisans work with dinanderie [hammered metal] and raku, as well as biscuit porcelain, crackled lacquer, brushed and cerused wood. At the same time, we also wanted to integrate new technologies by creating the Onfroy console table using 3D printing, which in my mind represents a form of craftsmanship that belongs to both the present and the future.

It’s almost as if technology gave birth to the object. We asked ourselves, ‘What can we do with it?’ It’s quite usual to see 3D-printed concrete models of buildings and, this console, evokes a small dwelling with a series of cubic volumes that interlock with each other. It’s architecture translated to the scale of furniture.

Can you talk about two or three other emblematic pieces from the collection?

There are several table lamps, which play with the notion of dual geometry. The Oculus model is a cone placed on top of another cone; the Orchidée lamp a clover on a clover. I like the idea of having a formal repetition within the object between its base and shade.

With the Oiseaux credenza, I wanted to create an organic object with gentle forms, but with a very naturalistic stone façade. It evokes the rock formations you find in Corsica and represents a sort of homage to nature, which has always been a great source of inspiration in the decorative arts.

Finally, there are the Olivet candlesticks, which seem almost to run across the table. They’re like branches that hightail it. They’re fitted with drop ornaments and will be offered in different metals and different crystals, because depending on one’s birth date and astrological chart, everyone has stones that are beneficial to them and metals with which they are most in harmony.

What is your vision for the future of Quai d’Orsay?

JLD: I’d like to develop a whole lifestyle around the brand. We’re already in discussions with a number of manufacturers to develop a line of bathroom fittings and I’d also like to create a range of paints, since I have ideas for giving them greater depth and vibrancy.

For the furniture, I think it would be fun to collaborate with a variety of different artists and designers. That will bring a true eclecticism, characteristic of French taste. I don’t want to favor any particular profile or nationality. The essential thing is that each piece be made in France, whenever possible.

The Parisian showroom will serve as a showcase, but we’ll also be very active online and on social media. We intend to develop many accessories… genuine conversation pieces, which can easily be boxed up and shipped to the other side of the planet.