Audrée L. Larose and Félix Guyon, design lovers and lovers in life, are officially launching their innovative high-end lighting fixtures influenced by the romanticism of their collection La Belle Époque. It’s with enthusiasm that they will be presenting them for the first time at the ICFF in New York City this coming May 14 to 17. At the same time, Félix Guyon, founder of Les Ateliers Guyon, will present his new hanging chair, The Méliès.

The two designers behind Larose Guyon have created their own world haloed in poetry, romance, elegance and beauty. Since the launch of their objects collection in November 2015, they have ramped up their creativity and are now offering three new sculptural lighting fixtures. For Larose Guyon, creating a new fixture is not only about style but about the light itself. During the creative process, the magic and warmth that create light and shadow are, for them, as important as the object itself. Larose Guyon’s lighting fixtures are as attractive as the atmosphere they create. It’s at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) 2016 in New York City that you’ll have the chance to admire for the first time, all of their creations!

Félix Guyon, founder and designer of Les Ateliers Guyon, will also have the opportunity to introduce his new hanging chair, The Méliès. Inspired by the abstract and absurd world of the famous director Georges Méliès, The Méliès chair is an homage to dreams and creativity. The Squarespace headquarters in New York City has already purchased the first three chairs of the series.

A Seductive Design 

Based in Verchères, on the outskirts of 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 aesthetics 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

“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!”

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 University of 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 accessible 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 strength 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 our lighting fixtures. ”

Every object and lighting fixtures is inspired by a notable character from that pivotal time in contemporary 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, lighting fixtures and furniture are assembled without using any solder. Each piece’s shape is a masterpiece of ingenuity 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.

Meet the designers

Larose Guyon and Les Ateliers Guyon invite you to come and see their creations and meet the designers Audrée L. Larose and Félix Guyon at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) 2016 in New York City from May 14^th to May 17h. Their booth number is 1324.

For more information, contact Audrée L. Larose and/or: Félix Guyon 

www.laroseguyon.com
[email protected]
1+ 450.583.5335