London

Erwan Boulloud

Furniture maker | Montreuil, France

Multi-material mastery

Erwan turns furniture into true pieces of art
He considers the digital revolution as a great contribution to the crafts
He first trained at the Ecole Boulle in bronze mounting

At the crossroads between fine craftsmanship and new technologies, Erwan Boulloud's objects each tell a unique story, where sculptural art meets functional furniture. Metal, wood, glass, concrete: Erwan works with a wide range of raw materials; through the accuracy of each technique used, he reveals the depth of their character. “From a creative point of view, I don't restrict myself to any material. We make high quality pieces in which no detail is left to chance. The finishing is pushed to the maximum in the quest for a certain truth, a purity, trying to get away from the temptation of ostentation.” For his approach, based as much on innovation as acquired savoir faire, Erwan has developed many new techniques, such as metal marquetry in volume, to name but one.

Interview

What made you choose furniture design?: You can't really talk about choice; I don't think you choose a career like you choose a dish on a menu. You are a work in progress; you have to know how to seize the opportunities and move forward step by step, venturing into ever more ambitious projects. I have not always been where I am, and I don’t know where I will be tomorrow.
What is your essential approach to creation?: For me, the success of a piece is not measured by its aesthetic qualities, it must above all be justified by an intellectual approach, the expression of an idea. Beauty is not a goal but the consequence of the exercise of a style. This Darwinian conception of creation is a founding principle of my work.
What represents a "well made" object ?: The object must come to life, it must be detached from the hand that made it. By this, I mean that the stigma of its making must disappear, and that the link that remains with its maker must only be a spiritual one.
What do you like most about your profession?: The feeling of building an overall work, achievement, as if each object created was a molecule of a larger entity. The feeling that the path is infinite, that no amount of creation will satisfy me. The impression that I am paid for my psychotherapy as I interpret client's wishes and needs.

Erwan Boulloud is a master artisan: he began his career in 1995 and he started teaching in 2008