Figures: a young studio with an uncovered face

Created a year ago, the Figures studio was born from the collaboration between Claire Cousseau and Gabriel Loirat. Enriched by their past experiences around the world and in various fields – retail, hotels, watches and jewelry for Gabriel and in the world of fashion and high-end accessories for Claire – they finally found themselves in Paris to collaborate within the same studio. The first collection unveils singular pieces that have attracted attention, and in particular that of the Mobilier national which has selected the CALC pedestal table for its 2021 acquisition campaign.

He has a background in interior architecture, she in product design. Upon returning from their personal experiences, they found themselves with the desire to create a studio whose edited collections would have their own language and reflect their universe. Very complementary, Claire Cousseau and Gabriel Loirat work closely together on all the projects “If one of us starts something, the other will quickly add its touch. This is a very important aspect for us and it is what forms the DNA of figures” .

If the name of the figures studio was chosen to echo the relationship with geometry and formats found in their creations, the first collection of furniture was largely inspired by brutalist and modernist architecture. “What we are trying to do in particular is to find manufacturing systems that are architectural details, and succeed in blending design with architecture,” underlines Gabriel Loirat.

For this collection, the two designers insisted on having French materials and manufacturing. Also, they attach particular importance to craftsmanship and therefore call on professionals for production. Thus, the three pieces of furniture in the collection – the CALC pedestal table, the ILE stool and the DROI chair – are in solid oak and handmade by a cabinetmaker. The 4th piece in the collection, the OBLIC porcelain vase, was made by a ceramist. In addition to these four productions, they also present art prints, inspired by fullness and emptiness, a theme from Asia. Very abstract, these pieces nevertheless leave nothing to chance and are based on the design works of the studio.

By 2022, the studio figures aims to appropriate new materials such as steel or aluminum for its next creations. Also, they want to develop a branch of interior architecture in order to have a more global vision in their work.

Maïa Pois