Les Héritiers, a French decor
Published on 12 May 2023
Thirty years ago, Pierre Dubois and Aimé Cécil Noury created Les Héritiers to dust off the French style. Their success has revived many craftsmen.
“When I get up in the morning, says Pierre Dubois, I tell myself how fortunate and a happy man I am. I live from my passion, and at the same time, I'm like a tribal chief who has to feed everyone”. With his accomplice, Aimé Cécil Noury, the two men are “Les Héritiers”. Their furniture and decorative accessories brand aims to be the custodian of a traditional French style that they are working to develop to better fit into modernity. In line with tradition, the best craftsmen's hands were selected throughout France. For modernity, classic lines were reinterpreted with a refined twist. Thirty years ago, French craftsmanship was at a low point, competing with foreign manufacturers in a market dominated by the race for low prices. Based on this distressing observation, the two future partners embarked in 1993 on a “Tour de France” in search of the know-how that could give life to their project: a decoration brand that renews tradition and offers outlets for local artisans. Both men are passionate about antiques and contemporary art. What was just a hobby ended up inspiring their profession. Pierre Dubois was formerly a journalist and a press attaché. Aimé Cécil Nourry was a graphic designer in the industrial environment. Nourished by solid historical references, they designed their first objects. “We don’t observe any restrictions in our workshops; we give our team time to do well. We have learned to understand their trades to better cast our contemporary gaze on ancient techniques in the right balance”. In September 1993, they were ready. They booked 21 square meters for the Maison&Objet Paris fair. On their stand, they exhibited ashtrays, vases, a plaster mirror, candlesticks, and some ceramics.
The rest is a success story. The idea of inheritance is immediately validated. “To our great astonishment, visitors said they had the impression of knowing us forever. The most beautiful compliment ever,” says Pierre Dubois. A buyer doubles the week's turnover two hours before the fair's end, purchasing twenty copies of each model. Three years later, still at Maison&Objet, they were asked to decorate an entire house in Miami. Luxury hotels and collaborations with architects follow private commissions. At last, they are spotted by the master furniture publisher Roche Bobois. And so begins a partnership aiming to last forever with four pieces at first, then forty, then an entire collection. “We travelled the world together,” says Pierre Dubois. Designers and decorators, Les Héritiers, employ glassblowers, ceramists, a cabinetmaker, seat and chair manufacturers, metalworkers, bronze-makers… Their interior candles are made in Grasse, the French capital of perfume. The atmospheres they imagine are warm and lively. “The hotels we decorate tell stories. Le Strato in Courchevel is punctuated with references to the history of skiing, La Lanterne in Paris with drawings by Saint-Germain-des-Prés-based artists, and Les Sept Fontaines in Tournus with references to wine. Never a total look, but a clever mix of contemporary, antique and exotic pieces”. With two shows a year, exclusively at Maison&Objet, Les Héritiers distributes in 550 points of sale and generates 80% of its turnover from exports. “We work with four hands with our guts, we constantly learn from our customers, we are nothing without them, concludes Pierre Dubois. We hope our collections become future antiques that people collect. It amuses me because I see some of our older pieces now being auctioned by design dealers”. They are here coming full circle with a legacy for the future, in other words: the heritage of Les Héritiers.
By Caroline Tossan
Illustration ©Sarah Bouillaud