Using natural materials-wicker, osier, rattan, rope-to create exquisite handwoven decorative objects, French lifestyle brand Atelier Vime has redefined luxury.
When Atelier Vime's cofounders discovered that their eighteenth-century hotel particulier had previously been a basket-weaving workshop, they dedicated themselves to reviving the vanishing artisanal craft. They replanted willow shrubs, hired local artisans, and designed a contemporary collection of decorative objects with their associate Raphaëlle Hanley. Karl Lagerfeld was an early admirer and, according to Architectural Digest, Atelier Vime swiftly became "the industry secret for designers." Today, customers around the world-from private homeowners to notable designers including Pierre Yovanovich, Kelly Wearstler, Aerin Lauder, Jake Arnold, Virginia Tupker, and Beata Heuman-flock to La Maison Vime at Vallabregues in Provence to source Vime's unique home furnishings that are handmade in France.
The duo behind Atelier Vime invites readers to discover their idyllic universe in their homes across France, where their unusual color palettes-from periwinkle blue to burnished ocher-offer a striking backdrop for their Medici column vase, woven screens, and rattan furniture. Their collections include classical and modern art, antique textiles, Provençal ceramics, and miniature baskets, which are combined with their contemporary creations to form the signature Vime style. Bringing the ancestral savoir faire of basketry into the twenty-first century, using materials and methods that are as sustainable as they are sumptuous, Atelier Vime celebrates an impeccable lifestyle rooted in the synergic relationship between luxurious design and nature.
About the AuthorsBenoit Rauzy, a specialist in infrastructure and water resource management, cofounded Atelier Vime.
Anthony Watson, a stylist, is the artistic director and cofounder of Atelier Vime.
Marie Godfrain is a freelance journalist specialized in design, decoration, craft, and architecture. She writes a weekly column for M, the magazine of Le Monde, and contributes to Ideat and Le Quotidien de l'Art.
Industry Reviews
"The founders of Atelier Vime, Benoît Rauzy and Anthony Watson, have revived the art of wicker weaving and spurred a remarkable resurgence in the craft. Their first book dives into the history of wicker, their own artisanal practice, and beautiful homes across France featuring wicker in all its many forms." — Frederic Magazine
"Their new book, The World of Atelier Vîme, a Renaissance of Wicker and Style (Flammarion), reveals the partners’ signature style in their homes across France—whose interiors have been restored by local craftsmen using regional materials and techniques. These provide a romantically textured backdrop for their curvy rattan and soulful rope designs, not to mention their extensive collections of ceramics, classical and modern paintings, and vintage textiles." — Yolo Journal
"Benoît Rauzy and Anthony Watson founded their design studio, Atelier Vime, after discovering an abandoned wicker workshop in their 18th-century hôtel particulier in Vallabrègues, a Provençal village on the left bank of France’s Rhône river. They became fascinated with basket-making and wicker furniture, collecting antique designs by everyone from Adrien Audoux to Charlotte Perriand, offering them to customers along with their own decorative accessories, created with the designer Raphaëlle Hanley. Now their obsession and aesthetic are on display in a new book, “The World of Atelier Vime: A Renaissance of Wicker and Style.” The pages feature imagery largely shot by the couple themselves, with tours of their homes (including their latest acquisition, a Louis XV-era château in Normandy), a survey of their designs — from the woven Medici column vase to the fish scale-inspired E´cailles screen — accompanied by profiles of the artisans who forge them, and a look at the roots of wicker in Vallabrègues." — New York Times (UK)
