Republic

An industrial designer, Patrick Norguet has a particular fondness for objects and the materials they are made of, in all their diversity, and above all the places where they are born — the manufacturers, factories and craft workshops. Hence his taste for functional creations, free of frills, that draw their inspiration from both Scandinavian and Austrian schools. A lover of the history of objects, for over ten years he has been creating signature pieces for global brands (Arflex, Tacchini, Artifort...) on the international design scene.

Republica is the name Patrick Norguet gave to his chair — a nod to the famous Place de la République in Paris, near which he has set up his agency. It was by chance that the designer discovered Maison Drucker, during a visit to the Equip-Hôtel trade fair in 2008. Bruno Dubois had recently bought the brand. "The history of this company immediately struck me," Patrick Norguet recalls. "It was love at first sight. The legacy of the past, the context, the production at that time, the very particular tradition Drucker has woven with rattan — there was everything to envisage a collaboration."

The designer then contacted Drucker and proposed working on the development of new products, "to write a sequel to existing stories." As with all his projects, he analysed the company's profile and offered to reinterpret a classic chair, modernizing it so it could be produced industrially and manufactured on a larger scale. "Because the world has changed," he continues. "Part of production has been delocalised and uses have evolved." A few months later, his first investigations led to a creation combining Raucord and aluminium structure — a first.

"It was about making an object that imposes itself as obvious — designing a chair that finds its place within Maison Drucker's collections, with a simple, easy-to-grasp design. Bringing a contemporary dimension to a classic that would then be used in a wide variety of venues, with a broad choice of finishes and uses." Republica is therefore the fruit of genuine design reflection, and its lines belong to the logic of a singular product. "Maison Drucker represents an important period in the history of design for me," concludes Patrick Norguet.

It evokes the ancient exchange of raw materials between Asia and France, voyages, the 1920s and the rise of bistro chairs. It illustrates, in an emblematic way, rattan production from the 19th century to the First World War, and that subtle blend of craftsmanship and industrial production. I work for great furniture brands, but my experience with this French family-run company has been different and extremely enriching.