Atelier Vime
ANTHONY WATSON ON ART, TRAVEL AND A LIFE IN PROVENCE
“When we acquired the property we felt like invaders, small eighteenth century mansions such as this one are dotted all over the French countryside; they all have very unique characteristics. For this one, it was the three ponds in the garden where wicker reeds could be soaked in water, the first step in the production process, We knew straight away that to honor the house we needed to get it back up and running.” - Anthony Watson
Atelier Vime (a French take on vimen, Latin for flexible twig or shoot) came about when Anthony Watson and partner in life and business, Benoit Rauzy, bought a crumbling 18th-century hôtel particulier, Hotel Drujon, overlooking the banks of the river Rhone in the Provençal village of Vallabrègues. They found their new home had once housed Boyer Ltd., a 19th-century business devoted to harvesting and weaving local rattan into baskets and furnishings. Since time immorial, wickerwork had been the main trade occupying the people of this peninsula bordering Arles and Saint Rémy de Provence; in the 18th century even the small village of Vallabrègues counted as many as 450 wickerworkers out of it's 1800 inhabitants. “There were all these stories around us,” Watson says, recalling the baskets littering the property, “Benoit said to me, ‘We have to continue the tradition.’”
A new venture for Rauzy and Watson, who had long held careers as an environmental consultant and stylist respectively, they began collecting important mid-century century rattan furniture, a 1950s armchair by Gio Ponti; a pair of sculptural 1960s easy chairs by Tito Agnoli, and decided to start a collection of their own. With designer Raphaëlle Hanley (an accessories designer who worked for Stefano Pilati during his tenure at Yves Saint Laurent.) they devised a series of original pieces to be crafted from local materials by artisans living nearby.
A collaboration between Brooklyn based artist Wayne Pate and Atelier Vime Photograph: ©Atelier Vime
The “Aramis” suspension light in natural rattan, entirely made by hand, it requires approximately 40 hours of braiding Photograph: ©Atelier Vime
Atelier Vime is already a firm favorite amongst the design cognoscente, from Pierre Yovanovitch, who commissioned a massive light fixture for a project in Tel Aviv, to Charles Zana and David Netto. “Instagram is how people found us,” says Watson, “When we opened an account three years ago, we were unknown in the interiors business, but then it all happened quite quickly.” Earlier in the year, to coincide with Paris Design Week, Atelier Vime transformed their pre-Haussmann apartment in Paris’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés district into a showroom for their permanent collection. Wicker lamps, a daybed and tableware were displayed alongside objects from artists and artisans they admire, including lamp shades hand-painted by Brooklyn artist Wayne Pate (who currently resides in Paris.), ceramics from Provençal artisans Les Dalo and hand-printed cushions from Drusus Tabor. The apartment, which has been Rauzy’s family since the 1960s, when his parents were part of the Left Bank beatnik set, is the perfect showcase for their unique aesthetic and taste, which combines an eclectic mix of rustic wicker, Louis XV furniture and sketches by the likes of Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso.
Painted lampshade, Wayne Pate for Atelier Vime Photograph: ©Atelier Vime
Anthony Watson: “The story of Atelier Vime is very much linked to the village of Vallabrègues and to the study of Charles Galtier, a French writer and researcher. His university thesis on the The Wicker Craftsmen of Vallabrègues (1967), gave a complete and accurate review of the day to day life, the traditions, familial structures and alliance inside the craftsmen community of the village. Further to this anthropological approach we have discovered the eminent place of basketry in the antic Latin culture and the 36 different words of the Latin language used to name the various wicker implements, baskets of all kinds, that are still visible on the antic marble sculptures. Taking a broader standpoint and having in mind for instance, the work of Claude Levi-Strauss, we could find some common goals, common questioning, and achievements in the work of the basket markers from Vallabrègues and in the weaving art of the Amazonian tribes. The timelessness and universality of the basketry and its vocabulary is amazing and very attractive.”
What’s next for Atelier Vime?
“New pieces of furniture, special projects with Wayne Pate, a collaboration with a French luxury brand to be launched in April in Milano, and an new and fast growing interior design service.”
Who is the person that most inspires you?
“Serge Diaghilev. I have always been impressed by his ability to convince the most modern, talented people of his generation to come together to collaborate on something that was a completely new and consistent artistic object; on the creation of something he was certainly the only one to have in mind, to keep the direction while leaving the freedom of creation to the artists, to mobilize the energy, the resources, to fight against all type of conservatisms in the pursuit of harmony; and to succeed. What a talent, and what a life.”
Where is the most unforgettable place you’ve travelled?
“Samarkand in Uzbekistan where I worked and travelled for 25 years. The city of Samarkand is at the heart of the former Timurid Empire and, starting in the fifteenth century, it attracted the elite of artists and scientists from the Persian and Arabic world to the Indian, Byzantine and central Asian cultures. It was damaged during the Soviet period, factories were established in the city centre, close to the most beautiful monuments, and the intensive cotton industry destroyed most of the ecosystem in the region. But the culture is still present, in every stone, in the mind and spirit of the population, in the magnificence of the textiles (Suzani) and ceramics and in its openness to strangers.”
What’s the best souvenir you’ve bought home?
“My dog, from Ibiza, a 22 year long love affair (she passed away last year).”
Tell us about a recent “find” ?
“The Erarta Museum in St Petersbourg, a unique place for modern art in Russia.” Building 2, 29th Line, Vasilievsky Ostrov, 199106, St. Petersburg, Russia (+7 (812) 324 08 09; www.erata.com).
If you didn’t live in Paris, which city would you live in?
“Barcelona. I love La Boqueria market and area surrounding the Placa de Catalunya. I would also recommend the Hostal Empúries, about an hour and a half by car from Barcelona. It was originally built as a guesthouse for the archaeologists working on the ancient city of Empúries and is beautifully located on the beach, still very peaceful (even in summer time), and the food is exquisite.” Mercado de La Boqueria, La Rambla, 91, 08001; Hostal Empúries, Platja Portitxol, s/n, 17130 L'Escala, Girona, Spain (+34 972 77 02 07; www,hostalempuries.com)
Which artist would you collect if you could?
“Caravaggio. A genius and probably a thug, his glory was tied to his vital force. It took three centuries for his work to be recognized after a long period of denigration. Crocifissione di san Pietro (The Crucifixion of St Peter) (1601) tells everything, best and worst, about human nature.”
The “20s” pedestal and vase, natural rattan and wood, also available as a lamp Photograph: ©Atelier Vime
An object you would never part with?
“A small Qadjar lamp, that my father bought. It is sophisticated and rustic, naïve and colorful.”
What was the last thing you bought and loved?
“A rattan bed by Louis Sognot. The rattan furniture he designed is extremely well realized. It was made in France by the father of one of our craftsmen.”
Something you have your eye on?
“A seventeenth century Italian Cabinet, to be sold at auction next week. A very precious item with two carrying handles: the cultural opposite of the modern wheelie-case.”
What’s the best gift you’ve been given?
“Love.”
The site that most inspires you?
“The Frick Collection in New York, where I first discovered Whistler, and for the incredible Purification of the Temple (c. 1600) by El Greco. Also the Pushkin Museum for the Shtshoukine Collection, a faithful support to a tough life in Moscow in the early 1990’s.” Frick Collection, 1 East 70th Street, New York (212-288-0700; www.frick.org); Pushkin Museum, Ulitsa Volkhonka, 12, Moskva, Russia, 119019 (pushkinmuseum.art).
If you had to limit your shopping to one neighbourhood, in one city, which would you choose?
“Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris. I go to La librairie Mazarine for the second hand and out of print art books, and also L’Ecume des Pages. Pierre Frey’s shop for the Braquenié fabrics. Antoine Boccador, for medieval and renaissance furniture. Galerie HP Le Studio is wonderful, and Vincent Lecuyer has a great selection of twentieth century paintings. I like to go to Les Deux Magots for breakfast, Le Comptoire des Saints-Pères in the evening and Marco Polo for dinner.” La librairie, 78 Rue Mazarine, 75006 (+33 1 46 33 48 37); L’Ecume des Page, 174 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006 (+33 1 45 48 54 48); Pierre Frey, 2 Rue de Furstemberg, 75006 ( +33 1 46 33 73 00; www.pierrefrey.com); Antoine Boccador, 3 Rue de Varenne, 75007 (+33 1 42 84 25 70); Galerie HP Le Studio, 1 Rue Allent, 75007 (+33 1 40 20 00 56); Galerie Vincent Lecuyer, 34 Rue de Lille, 75007 (+33 1 42 46 05 74); Les Deux Magots, 6 Place Saint-Germain des Prés, 75006 (+33 1 45 48 55 25; www.lesdeuxmagots.fr); Le Comptoire des Saints-Pères, 29 Rue des Saints-Pères, 75006; Marco Polo, 1 Rue Saint-Sulpice, 75006 (+33 1 43 26 79 63; www.restaurant-marcopolo.com)
What is your greatest inspiration?
“Our house in Provence and the very high standard of the Provencal ‘art de vivre’ in the eighteenth century. It’s also perfect for modern furniture. If a new item does not find a place, forget it.”
What is your biggest indulgence?
“A daily 40 minutes of swimming, at around 4.30 pm.”