By purchasing a fallow estate in Bolton-Ouest, Maxime Vandal and Richard Ouellet had no idea of the playground it was to become. After six years, the Humminghill Farm is a brand in itself and the embodiment of an art of living where simplicity, handmade and nature are available in small daily luxuries.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
“We knew that this property was a good investment, but we could never have guessed that it was going to transform our lives from top to bottom,” says architect Maxime Vandal, co-founder of Les Ensembliers with his partner, the designer of inside Richard Ouellet. Their farm in the Eastern Townships, surrounded by agricultural land to be reclaimed, has become not only a place of anchorage and a source of inspiration, but also a fertile creative laboratory.
Let’s go back to before the pandemic, when the duo had the wind in their sails and obtained international recognition thanks to prestigious contracts, including the signing of a range of fabrics and wallpapers for the luxury brand Brunschwig & Fils. COVID-19 has put a brake on this momentum and, by extension, on a life of jet-setting between two planes. “It forced us to stop, to question ourselves and to find a balance in life,” says the co-founder of Les Ensembliers. And quite naturally, life refocused around the farm.
PHOTO ANDRÉ RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER, PROVIDED BY FERME HUMMINGHILL
Richard Ouellet and Maxime Vandal, co-founders of Les Ensembliers group
The past two years have been an opportunity to tame relatively unknown territory that spans 80 acres, forge new relationships, and begin restoration of the estate’s buildings. The Humminghill Farm has become the narrative around which the Ensembliers embroider their image, especially on their social networks followed by more than 18,000 subscribers. It is also the standard-bearer of a way of life concerned with nature and imbued with beauty.
Showcasing local talents
The development of their vegetable garden is an architectural exercise in itself. “We knew very little about gardening,” says Maxime Vandal, who nevertheless had a clear vision of an ornamental and productive vegetable garden, structured to complement the volumes of the farm building. For the sake of aesthetics, rows of chives have been planted around the squares of vegetables and herbs “to make it look good”, agrees his gardener. This vegetable garden rich in textures, colors and scents has taken their social networks by storm, raising a question along the way: what are you going to do with all that chives? The answer presented itself in the melee: and why not a vinegar?
PHOTO ANDRÉ RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER, PROVIDED BY FERME HUMMINGHILL
The chive flower vinegar that is made on the farm is joined by three other flavors: tarragon and pepper, basil and lemon and oregano and pequin pepper.
Thus was born the first production of the farm, a vinegar with chive flower produced in 300 bottles quickly sold, the success of which forced the creation of an agri-food company and generated three other flavors. Added to this collection is honey from the domain’s beehives and, to accompany it, a pot fashioned by the hands of a neighboring potter, Robin Badger. To meet the demand, Les Ensembliers sought reinforcement from the Bolton-Ouest Collective, grouped around the revaluation of land in the region. Thus, one thing leading to another, one more seed was planted for an exciting project. All it took was a momentum to make it all bloom.
This push came from an international decoration magazine which had targeted the bucolic setting of the farmhouse for a photo shoot on the art of hospitality in the style of Les Ensembliers. Rather than integrating accessories from elsewhere, the duo knocked on the doors of the surrounding area to offer this visibility to artisans here. In six weeks, the operation was set up. It was the lever to create a brand, La Ferme Humminghill, which is launching its online store this spring.
Owning agricultural land means living with the seasons. Unless you have unlimited means, you depend on others and that completely changes your way of being.
Maxime Vandal, co-founder of Les Ensembliers
“A support network is set up and exchanges of services. It is a concept that we did not know, continues Maxime Vandal. We had to come back down to earth. It puts a lot of things into perspective about life, time, expectations. This place has changed our life. »
The art of living in the countryside
Around their international brand image and their vision of a simple and refined country life, Les Ensembliers have formed a collective of artisans from the Eastern Townships and Montreal, which they wish to promote in Quebec. and elsewhere by embracing this role as content editors (“curators”). In a desire to support local craftsmanship, all the objects overseen by the brand are purchased in advance from craftsmen who offer them, in return, exclusive creations imprinted with rustic and contemporary accents, which are so many jewels of interior.
Humminghill Farm co-signers
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY HUMMINGHILL FARM
In her Lac-Brome sanctuary, ceramist Émilie Dion, from L’Atelier EM, creates minimalist ceramics using traditional pottery techniques.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY HUMMINGHILL FARM
Miniature paddles from LittleDeer, from Candiac, spoons designed to never split
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY HUMMINGHILL FARM
A trained cabinetmaker, Marc-Antoine Dorval now devotes himself to working with clay in the village of Racine.
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PHOTO ANDRÉ RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER, PROVIDED BY FERME HUMMINGHILL
The craftsmen of Atelier Bussière, from Lac-Drolet, are mainly inspired by natural stone to create objects in noble materials designed to stand the test of time.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY HUMMINGHILL FARM
Patrice Robinson, the craftsman who gave his name to the Robinson Company, works his items in an authentic and refined style from ethical vegetable-tanned leather.
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PHOTO ANDRÉ RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER, PROVIDED BY FERME HUMMINGHILL
Atelier Forma’s organic creations are shaped by Montreal ceramist Bojana Kolarevic. The former interior designer mainly works with black clay, which has become her favorite medium.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY HUMMINGHILL FARM
Passionate about sewing, Marilyn Armand creates the modern quilts that are the centerpieces of Le point visible, in Bedford.
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PHOTO ANDRÉ RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER, PROVIDED BY FERME HUMMINGHILL
Les filles du coin is the space where three designers from Knowlton find their common thread. Weavers and seamstresses, they create pieces that revisit ancestral know-how.
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PHOTO ANDRÉ RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER, PROVIDED BY FERME HUMMINGHILL
Several artists with diverse interests come together under the label Dacat Studio of Montreal, which works with wood and textiles.
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PHOTO ANDRÉ RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER, PROVIDED BY FERME HUMMINGHILL
The Boutiverre workshop-boutique, located in the village of Knowlton, creates intriguing tabletop objects in a raw and organic style, from recycled blown glass.
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PHOTO ANDRÉ RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER, PROVIDED BY FERME HUMMINGHILL
Neighbors of the Ensembliers in Bolton-Ouest, the ceramists Robin Badger and Robert Chartier sign several objects from the collection of La Ferme Humminghill.
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PHOTO ANDRÉ RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER, PROVIDED BY FERME HUMMINGHILL
Sobriety is the bias of the craftswoman Valérie Pelletier. His timeless pieces are distinguished by their very pale blue enamel that lets the clay shine through.
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“I am so proud to be a voice for these people! There is so much beauty and there is so much talent everywhere that we do not know exists, continues the architect. This is our contribution to our region. We are not able to make hay and we will not become tomato producers. That’s not what we know how to do. »
Creating beauty, on the other hand, the two artists have completely mastered the art. And it is this piece of dream and countryside that they offer us by sharing life on the farm with us, Les Ensembliers style.