In the workshop with Philippe Giroud

For this ultimate step of upholstery presupposes an understanding of all the preceding steps in the manufacturing process of a piece of seating: construction, glueing, foam, even sewing. "This enables us to make the right compromises, he continues, to adapt certain steps, like for example modifying something in the upholstery to simplify things at the sewing stage. These back- and-forth exchanges between the R&D department [which develops the initial prototypes on which everyone works] and the various workshop trades are an essential part of finding the correct solution. We must also sometimes adapt our tools, even devise new ones. Particularly since reissues are extremely complicated products. We have no room for manœuvre. It really is necessary to be adaptable, as was the case with Jupiter, when the experience of those working on it really was invaluable."

In twenty-six years, Philippe Giroud has had the time to acquire such experience. When he first came into manufacturing in 1998, he learnt how to work on all models, even the most technically complicated, the most difficult to fit covers to. The ones which required more time, more consideration. Before becoming an upholstery instructor. Precision to the millimetre is required when one is following the curve of a back or seat. All the more so if one is moving from one material to another, when one must tailor each hand gesture. "The search is for the unctuous, the aesthetic. On sharp edges or wood, it’s really quite simple, but foam retains its flexibility. And here, it’s a question of feel. The hand guides us. Your approach will differ considerably depending on whether you are working with fabric or leather. And with leather, working from one skin to another, the adjustments you make will be different each time. But it’s also this need for constant adaptation which makes this job so interesting."

Each model has its own constraints, and one must know how to skilfully blend industry with craftsmanship. So it is that when the foam shell of the model Jupiter arrives in the workshop, the comfort foam must be glued in place, then the final layer of finishing foam is hand sculpted in situ using a template and a small saw. The fabric covering requires fabrics with a degree of elasticity. When one is working with leather, the covering material is made from multiple pieces joined together, both to take account of the model’s curves and also for reasons of economy. Over and over again, a hundred times per job. Attaining perfection takes a long time. But there is the satisfaction of a job well done.

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