Cédric Hervet and Nicolas Hervet are cousins who, in 2014, established Hervet Manufacturier: a retro-futuristic collection that focuses on fine (and, mostly, woodworked) furniture. If the French brand had a soundtrack, it could be Daft Punk.
This would make sense: Not only has it embraced a similar aesthetic, but there has been cross-fertilization between the two creative entities.
Hervet Manufacturier is produced in Normandy, France – where the cousins’ ancestors were woodworkers. The brand, it seems, was predestined. Hervet Manufacturier’s collection is available at their store (8 rue Volney in Paris) and, this month, at Maxfield (8825 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles) – an exhibition that marks the brand’s introduction to the U. S. market. The items were a welcome extension of the store, which is a modern construction from architect Jean Prouvé. And, then, on July 9, the collection is scheduled to be shown at JF Chen (1000 North Highland Avenue in Los Angeles).
Cédric and Nicholas have collaborated with other creatives, including Daft Punk’s Daft Arts (the creative studio). Cédric has, for decades, acted as Daft Punk’s creative director with contributions to their albums (including, Human After All and Random Access Memories) as well as their animation short film, Logorama (which received an Academy Award in 2009). In 2015, Hervet Manufacturier created a Formica-covered skateboard in beechwood ($280) that was themed around Daft Punk’s Da Funk.
And Daft Punk has collaborated with Hervet Manufacturier, too: The electronic music duo’s Thomas Bangalter has become the brand’s photographer. (And it was he who recommended that the brand’s materials be bound with a Japanese side stitch. )
Hervet Manufacturier is an innovative brand that revels in its references to the 1960s–1980s. But it is as current and luxe as it is boldly retro and funky. The new collection, for example, includes Astrolux ($2,460), a spaceship-inspired standing lamp, and Spootnik ($23,760), a satellite-inspired audio installation. Hervet Manufacturier’s furniture is created from different woods as well as other materials, including glass, leather, and metals.
Esprit, $12,510
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Spootnik Audio System, $23,760
Passager, $15,200
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Actarus, $12,670
Astrolux light, $2,460
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