Atelier Clac : committed know-how
DISCUSSION WITH ALEXANDRE, JULIEN ET TRISTAN FROM ATELIER CLAC
Valentin met Julien 10 years ago on a car-sharing journey between Nantes and Lannion. They discussed Olow's concept of artistic collaboration and exchanged contacts. Many years later, they met again on the project to create and fit out the Olow boutique in Nantes city centre. Julien had set up his own business with his partners Alexandre and Tristan, on the premises of Ici Nantes. Atelier Clac combines a number of complementary skills, including joinery, design, 3D printing and metalwork. It was in their shared offices that we took the time to chat about the craft world and their work for Olow, in the company of Alexandre's friendly Leonberg.
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
Alexandre is an ironworker and glassmaker. Julien is a designer and we work with Tristan, a cabinetmaker and joiner, who is our third partner. We decided to set up Atelier Clac because our skills complement each other so well. Our 3 trades complement each other easily, with a section dedicated to drawing and design.
We worked together on an initial project before setting up the company. On a personal level, we quickly realised that we had a good feeling about each other, which is very important to us. It was a pretty big project and we started talking about it at the time. In the end we decided it would be smarter to work together and a month later we set up the company.
In fact, we already knew each other a little bit, because we'd run into each other regularly in the Ici Nantes workshops. Julien and I had already worked on a few projects together and we were already friends. We didn't know Tristan as well, as he'd joined the studio more recently. The advantage of this place is that you can quickly meet other craftspeople, work together and take advantage of the opportunity to test yourself on certain projects.
What have been your career paths?
Julien: I studied industrial design. I decided to set up a micro-business. I worked with other designers on innovation and prototyping projects. That's what led me to work in workshops. Then I set up a design studio with a friend in Paris for 2 years. I then moved to Nantes, where I did project management, communications and design for a 3D printing company. Then I had the opportunity to meet Alexandre, and I started working with him on certain projects, which is what brought us together.
Alexandre : I started with a general education before switching to manual work. I left university to train as an ironworker, then worked for a while in the social sector before doing a spell in stained glass. I had a bit of trouble with the salaried status, so I decided to set up my own business for 4 years. I took the time to travel for a year and then when I came back to Nantes, I decided to join Make ici.
Tristan started out as a sound engineer in the film industry. He then moved to Nantes 10 years ago. He started out working on the Machines de l'Île for a while, as a cabinetmaker. Then he set up his own company, starting out in the electronic pipe market. He then set up his own company, "Le Menuisier Nantais", where he practised a number of skills, including joinery, cabinet-making and ironwork. Then he joined Atelier d'Ici Nantes. When he arrived, he already had a network of customers and chose to share his projects with other craftsmen in the workshop.
What are the values of Atelier Clac?
First of all, it would be local. Most of our projects are completed within 10 km of the workshop, which is already pretty smart in terms of CO2 emissions. This locality also allows us to take a more social approach, because we can afford to take the time to get to know our customers, seeing them in their homes to follow the various stages of the project. It's a different way of working from just responding to an email brief.
We also enjoy working with other craftspeople, sharing projects and mixing skills - it's something that motivates us.
After that, we're trying to work more and more with recycled parts and materials. It's not always possible, depending on the project, but that's where we'd like to go a bit more. Typically, for the Olow boutique project, we worked with so-called 'downgraded' materials, materials with defects that are excluded from the supply chain. In Nantes, there are structures like Articonnex that recover batches of panels with defects and sell them at a more attractive price instead of throwing them away or shredding them.
"THE MAJORITY OF OUR PROJECTS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT WITHIN A 10 KM RADIUS OF THE WORKSHOP, WHICH IS ALREADY PRETTY SMART IN TERMS OF CO2 EMISSIONS."
How do you organise the creation of a piece of furniture when there are several skills involved?
As Alexandre and Tristan were self-employed, they already knew how to manage a project. They can work on a project on their own, design it with their customers and then manufacture it. When it's a more global or complex project, we'll take the time to discuss it together. Then I'll start modelling on paper or computer. We'll then come up with a compromise between our 3 areas of expertise, aesthetics and price. Alexandre and Tristan can then get on with the manufacturing. And as the three of us are fairly flexible, the advantage is that we don't get stuck on any particular process.
Could you tell us a bit more about the current location and how it works?
We're at "Ici Nantes", a collaborative, solidarity-based factory that was set up 3 years ago. Julien and I were among the first residents and now there are almost 60 of us. The idea is that you pay a subscription fee to access the space, which is like a co-working space for craftspeople. We have access to all the machines, the network and other things that have been well thought out, such as the shared lorry. This saves us the cost of hiring, because we know that every day we have access to this vehicle, tools and machines that we wouldn't have been able to afford working in a small independent workshop. What's more, this spirit of solidarity and collaboration within the premises means that we can lend each other tools and know-how and share projects.
"This spirit of solidarity and collaboration within the premises allows us to lend each other tools and know-how and to share projects".
What were your first projects?
We started by taking on Tristan and Alexandre's projects, which included a fair amount of furniture fitting for private individuals. Then, quite quickly, we started to work on projects for businesses. We're trying to focus mainly on this type of customer now, because they're generally bigger projects that we can challenge ourselves on.
Do you remember any particular project? Perhaps more original or more complicated to set up?
The very first project we did together was quite technical. We had to manufacture and install a staircase weighing around 1.5 tonnes with a suspended terrace. The problem was that to transport such a heavy load, we had to use a Fenwick-type forklift truck, but none of us had the licence to drive it. The installation was done outside in the middle of December, in the rain. But this project allowed us to test ourselves. We'd never had such an imposing and technical project before, but we managed it and on a human level we realised that it was a great fit.
For Olow you worked on a number of bespoke pieces of furniture, including one in collaboration with Atelier Camion. Had you worked with them before?
Camille and Marion from Atelier Camion are friends of Atelier Mains libres, with whom we share offices and collaborate on a number of projects. Right from the start of the boutique project, we had the idea of creating a piece of furniture and covering it with earthenware. As we'd already seen Atelier Camion's work, we thought it would be a good idea to work with them. It was also interesting to create a piece of furniture that came out of a joint project between Aurélie, the architect, and Atelier Camion, both of whom are experts in this material.
As for the start of work on the boutique, it was Valentin who contacted us to propose the project. I'd known him for a few years, and we'd met on a car-sharing trip between Nantes and Lannion in a Twingo. It was the early days of the Olow brand at the time, we were talking about it on the road and I was immediately interested in the concept because I really like sketches and I thought it was really cool that they were working with artists. We exchanged contacts after that carpool. Finally, and quite unexpectedly, it was on a boutique project, years later, that we worked together.
Have you worked on boutique and office furniture before, as you did for Olow?
We haven't had many boutique projects, and that's not what we're looking for most either. We go for this type of project when it's a good boutique, when the concept speaks to us. Typically with the Olow boutique, the project was already quite attractive from the outset, in its choice of materials and colours. We were also convinced by the brand's atmosphere and concept. Then working on a global project, with the manufacture of several pieces of furniture, is challenging, because there's a lot of extra thought that goes into the layout.
"WORKING ON A GLOBAL PROJECT, WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF SEVERAL PIECES OF FURNITURE, IS CHALLENGING, AND THERE'S A LOT OF EXTRA THOUGHT THAT GOES INTO THE LAYOUT."
Do you have any current or future projects you can tell us about?
We're currently working on chandeliers. A friend called Samantha Milhet, a paper designer, is currently working on a lighting project for the Ministry of Finance. They came to her and said they needed about fifty lampshades. As she's on her own, she can't work and manage this type of production. So she contacted us and offered to make around fifty steel structures to support the papers she had made.
It's a new way of working that we have to put in place, because we're used to working on made-to-measure, one-off pieces, which is totally different from small-scale production. We have to optimise manufacturing time and the regularity of part production as much as possible. The slightest discrepancy could create assembly problems for her, so we have to be very rigorous.
