The mechanic who creates exceptional furniture

While we spend a lot of time between the same four walls wondering if we really lead the life we ​​want to lead, I think I have found a story that comes at the right time. It is that of an automobile mechanic who decided to manufacture exceptional furniture. He wishes, I quote him, “to blow up a show with each piece”.

I discovered Geoffroy Dépatie’s creations on Instagram. I was immediately charmed by the uniqueness of its concrete tables, its heavy, modern and surprising pieces. I suspected that the 36-year-old young man was hiding an interesting gait, but I did not expect such a course…

In fact, he is an auto mechanic by training. Already very young, he dreamed of a manual job and had a passion for cars; logical choice, then. At 17, he started working in the industry. A year later, he gave it up because he didn’t think he was making enough money for the effort invested.

Plan B: construction.

“I started with the dirty jobs, he explains to me with a smirk. I’ve shoveled rock out of them on building sites! I did concrete formwork, then reinforced steel, and moved on to carpentry. »

It was 10 years after his debut that Geoffroy Dépatie made his very first piece of furniture. A client wanted to have a concrete counter in his bathroom. Could he take care of it?

Revelation!

In 2016, Geoffroy Dépatie added the creation of custom furniture to his professional activities. Thus was born the company Les choses, with its attractive slogan: “Exceptional furniture for exceptional people”.

“All the techniques I use come from construction. I apply to furniture what I know how to do with steel structures, wood and concrete,” summarizes the craftsman.

What particularly charms me is the way it highlights materials that are often overlooked. Consider concrete. We associate it with the foundations of our houses; we hide it much more than we use it to decorate our interior. Moreover, we do not suspect everything that hides behind a concrete table…

“Polishing is long and it’s messy,” Geoffroy Dépatie explains to me. It splashes mud everywhere! Since I’ve never really had a decent studio, I’ve already done this stage in the alleys of Montreal. I surrounded myself with a circular shower curtain to prevent the mud from flying on the walls around…”

For your information, we are talking here about a task that can take between 30 and 40 hours of work! Not only does the craftsman use materials that are not necessarily considered noble, but he uses techniques that are sometimes looked down on.

“I find that in Quebec, we don’t value enough the trades of mason or cabinetmaker”, for example, he admits to me.

Speaking of hard work, Geoffroy Dépatie explains to me the process that allowed him to make a kitchen table of which he is particularly proud, in 2019.

“I started by prototyping the table. Then I made jigs to create this table…which I would only build once in my life. I welded it, then I painted it like I would paint a car. Just try to matching all the colors took me 10 visits to the store. This table is as beautiful from below as it is from above. I try to put on a show every time! That’s why I only make a few pieces of furniture a year. If my client tells me he has a $2,000 budget, I’ll put in $5,000 in time. My goal is to make really hot unique pieces, that’s what I want to show… If I build a piece of furniture, it’s because I want it in my house. »

At the same time, the craftsman admits to me that we do not find the least of his creations in his apartment. He can’t afford the materials or the time, he adds to justify himself, laughing.

It should be understood that the projects carried out by Geoffroy Départie are handpicked. How does he choose them, then?

“I have to be free,” he replies with a hint of audacity in his eyes. It takes quite a lot that the order is limited to: “I need a table.” »

Then, audacity gives way to a little vulnerability.

“I have a bit of a feeling of being a charlatan, all the same…

– Why is that ?

— Because I’m not a designer or an architect.

“What are you, then?”

— Hmm… Am I a mechanic-carpenter-cabinetmaker-concrete craftsman? »

Geoffroy Dépatie is also working on a project that will bring together all of his skills. After fifteen years spent building other people’s houses, he is just beginning to build his own.

He imagined the house together with a young 26-year-old architect. He is now preparing to build it, and 80% of the tasks will be carried out by him alone. He then intends to furnish it with his creations to make it not only his home, but a showroom.

“I want to show what I can do by joining design to construction. The house will be really special,” he says, once again giving me a playful look.

Already, a good part of the wood that will be used to erect the building has been cut by the man himself, from his acre of land. “The project’s carbon footprint comes down to the two small gas canisters that have been in the chainsaw to date! »

It’s also important, the environment, when comes the time to create “exceptional furniture for exceptional people”?

The mechanic-carpenter-cabinetmaker-concrete-craftsman takes a moment to reflect.

“I find that in general, we buy a lot of cheap things made by underpaid people. Things that break quickly… Concrete isn’t the most environmentally friendly material, but if you build a piece of furniture with the intention of making it last 50 years, that’s where it becomes advantageous, in my opinion. I try to make things that will still be there after I die. »

One thing is certain, he does them differently. In its own way.