We Trust In Wood / matali crasset

Pascal Yonet is the director of Vent des Forêt, a rural art center located in the heart of Meuse, France, near the borders of Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany. Every year since 1997, artists are invited for residencies in this secluded natural setting.

In 2009, matali crasset began collaborating with this space, which is open to members of the public who wish to walk, think and dream, and which doubles as a private forestry operation. There, matali designed three “Maisons Sylvestres” (huts): The Birdhouse, The Hazelnut and Chrysalis. These are small wooden huts in which the hiker could spend the night, taking his or her meal on a plate made of Sycamore wood with a carved ricespoon, and bundling up in a stitched blanket or in a wool scarf woven “à l’ancienne.”

For the collection We trust in wood, matali crasset has developed close relationships with a group of local artisans who impart to each of their creations their own expertly-cultivated style and their abundant personality. The cabinetmaker assembles a small Oak stool, the basket maker braids a Wicker bread cover, the blacksmith polishes a “cuit-pomme” (a small ceramic or metal rotisserie for baking apples), and students from a specialized high school assemble candleholders.

We trust in wood presents the richness and fertility of a very elemental exchange between the designer and the artisans of a territory not known for its resources.

We trust in wood is presented during NYCxDESIGN, at WantedDesign Brooklyn, by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and WantedDesign.
We trust in wood is part of the OUI design initiative supported by Institut Français-Paris, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, and the Florence Gould Foundation.