At the beginning ...
a mass of cut wood.
The journey begins...Four to six months in our workshops, your object will have benefited from the eclectic gestures of an inspired craftsman.
Planing, adjusting, sanding, varnishing, polishing, sheathing... Continuously innovating, working on rare wood species and noble materials,
Elie Bleu knows that to achieve perfection, his hand, with patience, must also be caressed. Through these various manipulations which cannot be accomplished in a few days, Elie Bleu infuses his objects with the creative spirit of a tradition of which he has been guarantor for almost 45 years.
Expertise
Elie Bleu has strived for decades to put all his creativity at the service of his productions, whose tradition is faithfully guaranteed. Elie Bleu has always been able to maintain the quality of its production at an exceptional level, the result of true know-how. In particular acquired by selecting among the most beautiful precious woods and the rarest exotic species that only a few still work. The marquetry is made by hand, as jewelers do, which requires countless manipulations before becoming a true luxury object.
The workshop
At the gates of Paris, the factory brings together the best craftsmen, often from the “Boulle” school, and uses the finest materials to produce excellent products.
Marquetry work requires the use of different species of precious wood cut into delicate shapes, assembled and glued to create a multitude of patterns.
Mother-of-pearl, straw and gold inlays are also used as real pieces of goldsmithery. These processes require a lot of know-how and precision.
These secrets have always been well protected by very specialized but above all passionate workers.
Testimonials from our designers and craftsmen:
Episode 1: Matter
Wood - a living material - is at the center of all the know-how of the different trades and crafts present at Elie Bleu. We use the most precious species and varieties, such as Royal or Macassar Ebony, Cocobolo, Indian or Rio Rosewood, Walnut or Amboyna Burl, Curly Sycamore, and many others. .
For the veneer, the most beautiful species are chosen then sliced until these real sheets of wood are obtained. Most often tinted to the core, these elements – an integral part of the Elie Bleu identity – then dress the “soul” of the object (technical term designating the interior “body”) to reveal an aspect of it. unexpected.
Episode 2: Design & Marquetry
Whether for our iconic collections, or for our limited series, the process of creating an Elie Bleu product always begins with a conception, a design.
In the great French tradition, so-called "element by element" marquetry, a close cousin of Boulle marquetry by superimposed cutting, consists of cutting each element following pre-designed patterns, then assembling the whole by hand, like a meticulous puzzle.
Episode 3: Production of the boxes
ELIE BLEU boxes close with a characteristic silky sound and its opening line is barely perceptible. Each of the boxes is adjusted by hand, piece by piece, using a small plane. Wood being a living material, this operation is repeated several times over the space of a few days, or even a few weeks depending on atmospheric conditions.
Episode 4: Sheathing & Accessories
ELIE BLEU creates and adjusts by hand, in its workshops, one by one the sheathing of the boxes and secret cabinets, which will receive: watches, jewelry and the most precious objects.