ITW – Lucie Bernheim, a wood lover
Passionate about crafts and a firm believer in eco-friendly living, Lucie Bernheim is the creator of Atelier LB, an ambitious project that treats wood with love. Full of energy and imagination, Lucie makes pieces of furniture and other wooden objects from second-hand furniture that she modifies in order to create her final pieces. We love and believe in her project and ideals so much that we showcase Lucie’s lamps in our Parisian shop. Curious about how she goes about creating them, we wanted to ask her a few questions.
Hi Lucie! You started out with wooden lamps and you’re beginning to diversify your production. Can you tell us a bit more about your project?
First off, my creations are made by reusing second-hand solid wood furniture or scraps of wood from workshops or factories. The whole production is based around recycling: the pieces of furniture are cut up in order to create household items, the scraps are used to create small decorative items, and the shavings make their way into the glass baubles for the end of year celebrations. My plan is to continue doing this and create new furniture ranges: to continue the Rita collection with different table and stool designs, but also develop a storage furniture range.
Why crafts, and why did you choose to work with wood?
I chose crafts out of passion. After a late change in my education, I decided to train at the Boulle design school in Paris. My first year in woodworking was a revelation. I did my training and created my workshop at the same time. For me, wood, represents strength, stability, but also smoothness and sensuality. I find that in its aesthetic appearance with its different colours and flaws (knots, veins, sapwood etc.) but also its feel and smell. By using recycled wood, I like to imagine the journeys these pieces of wood took and try to avoid the unnecessary cutting down of trees.
Photo par Luc Almon
What is your creative process like? Do you have your own workshop in Paris?
My workshop is in Paris, yes. I share a local with two other craftsmen. I don’t really have a creative process. It all depends on the second-hand furniture I buy and their flaws. The making of a piece takes a few days. First off is the research, then the buying and the transportation of the furniture. I come up with sketches and plans for my future creations depending on my findings, and the cutting up, planning, assembling, sanding, and finishing follow. Then, according to the scraps I’m left with, I come up with decorative objects. That’s why each piece is unique and cannot be reproduced.
How did you come to realise that you wanted to create for a job?
Things came about very naturally. I find that when your work is driven by your passion, all creations are made instinctively. The choice of an eco-friendly production was in harmony with my lifestyle and my personal convictions. The buying of second-hand furniture and this “eco-design” compel me to create without waste and keep the raw material in its entirety. Creation based around this concept is then inevitable.
Photo par Luc Almon
Woodworking is often regarded as a man’s job. How do you feel that on a day-to-day basis?
Very good question! I’m actually writing a small article on this subject so here’s an extract from it: “I am a woman woodworker in a man’s world. Every day, I am faced with this patriarchal system: when I am talking to suppliers who answer my questions while looking at my male workshop co-worker, when passers-by see me working and ask me if I am an apprentice, when men comment on photos in which I am working with sexist remarks, when I meet someone who asks if it isn’t too hard to not have the same strength as a man, when I am told that my creations are no doubt more sensual and more feminine than men’s, when I am not hired on a building site thinking that I could never work “as well” as a man. Indeed, I will never be as strong as a man, obviously. But does that mean we still can’t find a solution? Can we not help each other out instead of directly categorizing women?”
I think that this extract shows how confused I am about the situation and I hope that we will, all together, change society’s perception of women. It’s a long-term job, but I am sure that we will make it happen!
Photo par Luc Almon
If we have a precise idea for a piece of furniture, can we place an order for a custom-made product?
Indeed, I make custom-made pieces. There are two possibilities: either the customer already has sketches and plans, or we talk about it together and I come to them with my suggestions. The choice of materials used is down to the client. With their agreement, I will always opt for recycled wood or eco-friendly FSC or PEFC-certified timber.
What inspires you? Are there designers or artists whose work you absolutely love?
I don’t have a favourite designer. I am especially attracted to and inspired by three radically different worlds: clean and simple Scandinavian design, Oriental furniture with its geometric patterns and colours, and massive and majestic antique Greek architecture.
Photo par Maeva Allio
Your style follows the current trends; have you ever thought about creating objects with a completely different style?
As stated above, I will probably waver between these three worlds and maybe be able to assimilate the three in my creations. Then, it will all depend on my inspiration and the raw materials I find.
Your creations are available at OLOW, but can we find them anywhere else?
For the time being, they are only available in your shop and during ephemeral fairs. But you can always find them on my online Etsy shop, “AtelierLBparis”.
Photo par Maeva Allio
Any wacky projects planned for the future?
I have a lot of projects: new creations, a website, a new workshop with a shop, and of course, new encounters and collaborations!
But this year’s major project is the preparation of the first edition of a French crafts fair, with the help of my workshop co-worker, Grégory Mougne, that will take place next spring in Paris. It will help to link customers with creators from their region.
