A fantastical playground of unfettered creativity replete with tableaux lies tucked away into an unassuming post-industrial building on the outskirts of Long Island City, New York. It belongs to Jouffre, a living luxury heritage company and upholstery atelier hailing from France that has become a cradle for bespoke furniture design, custom craft, and textile experimentation in Manhattan. Their recent showcase entitled L’ècho, which remains somewhat of a fluid installation as their showroom and office expands to this day, is emblematic of their modus operandi using history as a guide to navigate a labyrinth of eclectic client tastes, designer needs, contemporary challenges, and neo-traditional methods. Though traffic is typically designers with discerning clients, there’s much to be appreciated by inquiring minds outside the trade.

Broken down into three scenes, L’ècho begins as guests pass through the warehouse walls and beyond the modest threshold where they are received in the Showroom proper that is staged like a formal parlor. It establishes the studio’s identity through a nimble display of upholstery prowess from seating to wall paneling, not only in a variety of aesthetic executions but in a case study of comfort as well. “On this occasion, our focus was on promoting natural materials as the new standard for fabrication while specifically showing that we can achieve the same quality of excellence and ease we’ve established in the past with synthetic foams,” says Jouffre Design Director Taylor Scott Ross. “The curation contributes to the conversation between history and the future of design.” A critical part of this dialogue is Enkev, whose materials include Cocolok and Taillok – comprising coconut fibers and horsehair rubberized with natural latex, respectively.

Included in this vignette is the Cage Sofa by Studio Giancarlo Valle. This piece boasts an iconic “woven” oak structure, which it shares with its 2021 Cage Chair predecessor, and seating draped in plush alpaca fur from Sedallo. The nearby playful Echo Chair, designed by Ross himself, utilizes Brooklyn-based weaver rruka’s energetic Sophia Rose textile, which contrasts two colorways through warp and weft. Partially encapsulating this space is a textural embroidery collaboration between Atelier Lebuisson and Jouffre, filling architectural niches with abstract, pulsating waves crafted from sustainable materials. Surfaces are further accented by sophisticated lighting from Studio Luddite including the Dormus Sconces and Stagg Lamp.

Those lucky enough to get a literal peek behind the veil of sheer curtains continue onto the production floor where some 60 industry veterans, artisans, and designers alike contribute their skills to the making of inimitable home furnishings. The hum of productivity is tempered by soft laughter as workers cross-pollinate from across the atelier. Visitors move through a field of projects-in-progress demonstrating various savoir-faire: traditional upholstery, window and wall treatments, gainage, and woodworking. In the far corner opposite the enclosed showroom is another vignette, this time a survey of covetable seating situated atop a monochromatic landscape. Labeled Iconique, this portion’s terminus represents a fraction of Jouffre’s catalog of collectible vintage designs that may be reupholstered to order. It bookends a series of designs by Jean Royère.

The final display is another aptly named curation called Dreamscape, which is wrapped in Dedar velvet and hidden adjacent to the showroom. Entrants into this intimate space feel swaddled in rich textures and soothed by contrasting colors that feel plucked from illustrations found in bedtime stories. The most impressive aspect is the Echo Bed, designed by Jouffre’s own Nikki Bregman, made entirely from natural materials by Enkev and color blocked using fabrics from Sedallo. Its voluminous, chunky proportions conspire with muted yellow and greige tones to emanate an ethereal glow that beckons onlookers to retire to bed.

Rooted in interdependence and connection, the ever-evolving exhibition serves as a testament to founder Charles Jouffre’s mission and the incredible assemblage of makers and thinkers who are at the forefront of their disciplines. “It is paramount to partner with design voices that align with our values, challenge and uplift our capabilities, and complement our savoir-faire,” Ross adds. “In these moments, the broader spaces become a beacon of international community and perpetuate craft across borders: real objects transformed momentarily into vestiges of profound global humanism.”

To learn more about Jouffre Atelier’s capabilities and collaborations visit jouffre.com.

Photography by Joseph Kramm.