Félix Guyon and Audrée Larose, design lovers and lovers in life, are officially launching Larose Guyon, a brand new high-end design company offering a range of innovative objects and luminaires. Their first collection, La Belle Époque, sets the tone.

“I think we had been looking for each other for a long time. What’s funny is, we actually met at a design event and we clicked at the very moment. We must have been made for each other in our common passion for creation, because since then we never stopped evolving, and it gets better and better. Design is the seed, Larose Guyon becomes our roots and our first collection La Belle Époque is the first bud of a tree that’s merely sprouting!”

A SEDUCTIVE DESIGN

Based in Verchères ,a small picturesque village along the St. Lawrence River, near Montreal, Larose Guyon matches the use of choice materials with a great formal purity to create high-end, original, distinctive items; meticulously crafted down to its finest detail.

In 2014, Audrée L. Larose and Félix Guyon’s paths finally crossed. After progressing for many years on the parallel fields of environmental design and industrial design, today they are two designers in love.

By combining both complementary visions, Larose Guyon provides simple, elegant, functional objects. Through a romantic aestethics of items of blatant luxury, haloed in warmth and humility, they infect daily life with poetry and beauty. As their approach is imbued with refinement and distinction, they get their inspiration from nature, art, past aeons and traditions. Branded with their love, Larose Guyon products are created, drawn and crafted objects cast in their image with the help of local artisans and their know-how.

HISTORY

Both designers tell us about their personal stories, which led to the birth of Larose Guyon through their chance encounter.

Designer Audrée L. Larose : ”I majored in environmental design at Université du Québec à Montréal in 2013. The first steps I took gave me the opportunity to dabble in architecture and urban design to finally end up specializing in integrated objects and spaces. Through La Firme design, I could consolidate all my knowledge in high-end residential and commercial design.”

In 2014 Félix and Audrée’s paths finally cross and to this day it still propels them with the same excitement and creativeness.Félix Guyon, Les Ateliers Guyon’s president and founder, tells us:  “… I graduated in 2006 with an industrial design degree from Université de Montréal. My creation is marked by my journey in the world of design and art, which led me to work from New York to London and study in France. In 2012, I founded in Verchères, right on Montreal’s doorstep, my own design studio Les Ateliers Guyon. I specialized in custom furniture design and turnkey design and it was through this company that I had the good fortune and privilege to win many awards in several design contests. But I must admit that this project is our baby, it is made of us and by us. We must now learn to be good to it, so that it be good to others.” Félix and Audrée confessed that they never found a better fit than each other. As much as their methods and outlook on design differ, they strangely converge in the most unique way, allowing both to merge edges and flaws and thus drag each other forward.

MADE IN QUÉBEC

For the two designers, staying local is very important. Chiefly in a will to give work to local craftsmen, but also in the hope of being able to offer a design that people from here can be proud of, all production and assembly is 100% made in Quebec. Félix eloquently explains his vision: “We are extremely lucky to begin this adventure in an increasingly design-oriented Quebec. We can sense that people can relate more and more to design, that it’s rapidly entering everyone’s living room, year after year. Here we are working with outstanding creatives and artisans. I believe in the next decades we will be watching those specialities of ours as they sharpen and crystallize in a more accesssible world. The richness we have here has to be brought to a better exploitation if we want its economy to become a spearhead for our culture on the global stage.

LA BELLE ÉPOQUE

For their first collection, they got their inspiration from what many see as an era evoking a somewhat romantic take on a world in the midst of a unique technical and cultural revolution. At the dawn of the 20th century, Paris, center of the world, had its skies sheared and its guts spilt, making room for a new century where innovation would be complicit to man. The subtle marriage of lace and steel was progress made flesh in all its glory, and its Expositions Universelles were kicking off a whole new page in modern history. The La Belle Époque collection, like a soft nostalgia, revisits the elegance and chic of the late 19th century, when machine, in all its strenght and might, also knew how to speak in a soft and poetic voice.

In this first collection, we find mirrors, chandeliers, wine bottle wall mounts, a decorative bowl, a recipe book stand and, soon, luminaires. Audrée reveals that: “We wanted to try our hand at first with daily objects on a small scale. This long creative process naturally set the tone to many upcoming light fixtures. We are very excited to get them out there and obviously we rejoice at the idea of finally seeing them after more than a year’s work!”

Every object is inspired by a notable character from that pivotal time in comtemporary history. Sources of inspirations were the likes of famous writer Victor Hugo, painter Henri Rousseau, restaurateur Auguste Escoffier as well as Cléo de Mérode, an actress of rare beauty, and plenty of other characters.

TECHNICAL CHALLENGES

Simplicity often hides dire technical challenges, and as for this first collection, challenges have been great indeed. All objects are assembled without using any solder or mechanical fasteners. Each piece’s shape is a masterpiece of ingeniosity and comes from a long and deep reflection on how to achieve a result where matter dances in an unprecedented ballet of elegance and purity. “From an initially cold and even dirty material we cut a raw diamond and created sheer jewels.” illustrates Félix.

LONG-TERM VISION

The two designers don’t intend on stopping with this first collection. According to them, many others will follow, and borders will not be of any hindrance to their ascent. “We want to learn how to properly work with our partners here and put down our roots, but as soon as this is done, we will be expanding our reach beyond borders and treading New York ground, where a fertile soil awaits, ripe for the importation of “made in Quebec” creativity!”

SHIPPING

The Larose Guyon online shop is built for North American customers. For customers overseas it is suggested to write directly at: [email protected].

 Contact Félix Guyon and/or Audrée L. Larose:  [email protected] – 514-802-1236