Wicker Pendant Light, Atelier Vime Editions Large Rattan Sofa, Audoux-minnet Wicker brings warmth and texture to a studio vignette
Atelier Vime Brings a Modern Touch to a Traditional Craft—made in Provence
A French renaissance is underway in Provence with Atelier Vime, where, in the village of Vallabrègues, Benoit Rauzy and Anthony Watson happened upon an 18th-century hôtel particulier and found vestiges—sketches, some baskets—of an industrious past.
Already, collectors of vintage rattan and wicker, the pair thrilled to discover that this building with its splendid patina was once a wicker workshop, a revelation that inspired them to launch a studio of their own, then and there.
Now with interior design services, Atelier Vime has in a few short years established a brisk business, one that grows its own wicker, has a number of Provencale craftspeople in its employ, and an emergent collection of contemporary pieces, including furniture and lighting, along with vintage wicker and rattan, plus raffia and rope designs from midcentury designers.
Together this rich, warm mix makes for a classically beautiful milieu that speaks to the rare, unaffected refinement of our times. And timing, it seems, is everything. In capitalizing on the regional heritage of wickerwork, Rauzy and Watson at the same time have turned headlong into the winds of hand-made and sustainable design. Atelier Vime supports its Old-World revival with decidedly a New-World approach—a vibrantly curated social feed with a cult following.
