Canadian designers Audrée L. Larose and Félix Guyon have founded the Larose Guyon studio together in 2014. Based in Verchères, a picturesque village along the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, the duo also owns another interior design studio.
Their first series of work, La Belle Époque, relives the chic and elegant style of the 19th century. Using machines to create soft but smart forms of appliances, each of these pieces is named after famous French painters, writers, ballerinas and so on. This shows the respect that they have for art, nature, history and tradition. For example, the circular plate which rolls up like a leaf looks just like a painting, where it’s simple and casual curves deliver a sort of raw beauty. They collaborate with local artisans with their imagination and sketches, and together they create minimal and practical home appliances. The whole production process happens in Quebec, Canada.
Their copper designs are very neat and only come in circles or other geometric shapes, with no extra adornments ever added. When the pieces are placed in a black room, the delicate copper edges become the low-key embellishment for the works. Even though their surface appears to be ice cold, the warmly shaded brass, as well as the aging effect which is applied, makes it appear more like a visually warming mechanism. This solidifies the duo’s unique sense of aesthetics. All of the appliances are coated with protective oil so that their oxidizing rate is slowed. Yet, the edges which are gradually turning green are definitely a deliberate choice by them.
