A Little Shop Just Out Back and Thousands of Miles Away

An interview with Gérard Dumora and Jacqueline Lauth of Pacific Art Design
Part 1 of 2 (link to Part 2)

The process for getting this interview up and ready is almost worth a blog itself. I had in fact met Gérard and Jacqueline just over a year ago at the Winter 2008 Maison & Objet show (see also here). At the time, I confess to giving their stand a quick glance, picking up as much information as I could and then continuing my journey onward in this Paris-based show covering roughly 10 million square miles (well that’s what my feet felt like afterwards).

Then one day some months later I was going through my collection of materials and noticed that the PAD team in fact just lives down the road from the Nixon’s. So I essentially yelled out the window (seriously, we can almost see their village from our office) and asked if they’d be interested in an interview, to which they kindly said yes and even invited my wife and I to visit them at their nearby home.

The interview itself was fascinating and a very well hosted event I must say (read on to find out why this is so important to say!). It was also very typical for an Alsatian gathering, namely there were conversations flying all around and at least two languages in use at any one time. And oh yes, delicious pie was served, oh man, was that good. Still, despite my pretensions about actually being able to comprehend the French language when sitting with someone – and I did pretty well when we were “live” – I did find that understanding the input from our interview tapes to be all but impossible.

So I will fully confess here front and center that without Mrs. Nixon’s very patient help, that this particular input would not be possible. But now that I’ve thanked the wife (and saved my own ‘peau’) and also now apologize to our new-found friends for the delay in getting this article ready, let’s move on to meet these talented, interesting and very friendly people:

Gérard, Jacqueline – Why did the two of you decide back in 1998 to move to the island of Moorea in the French Polynesian region of Tahiti?
G: Basically our wanting to move – call it a kind of ‘wanderlust’ if you will – happened because we both wanted to go there to find different values and experience new cultures. These aspects in Tahiti interested us in particular. And the environment and way of thinking we found there were very close to our own set of values.

At the beginning of our relationship – even after only being together for just 2 hours! – we were even then talking about leaving France for such a journey. You see, both of us grew up in families that moved around a lot and we both had the same sense of knowing that whenever we arrived somewhere, we started already to have a desire to leave again. It seems to have worked out pretty well, as we’ve been together now for 17 years.

Interestingly, when we decided to move to Moorea, I was working in Switzerland as a carpenter. I was making a good salary and we were living in pretty good conditions since the cost of living in France was so much lower. A lot of our friends were even ready to buy houses or property and begin settling down. But we were not ready for this – it’s still the same way today because whenever we feel tied down we want to move again.

Sure, it’s reassuring to have a type of ‘home sweet home’ you can come back to whenever you return from a journey or a trip. But on the other hand we find it good to have freedom to live where we want when we want. Of course it’s not easy to leave a place whenever you’ve made good friends and have family nearby; but when we make our moves we’re not just leaving on a whim. It’s all very much planned and really adds a little bit of spice to our lives.

And when we do move, it’s not like we’re just camping out; we really try to install ourselves and make a commitment to the place where we are. We integrate ourselves into the local culture and really try to make friends and live as normal as possible. Yes, it’s a bit like starting from scratch each time but we don’t want to fake it when we move. This is really important to us otherwise we know we wouldn’t be satisfied anywhere.

For now at least, being located in the Alsace has been very good for us but we still have plans to leave at some point. Our daughter is finishing her studies and we’re focused on her getting her (high school) degree.

Gérard, I understand your father played a role in your interest in other cultures and travelling?
Yes, because of my father’s military career we moved a lot when I was much younger. In terms of how it affected me, well, when I think about my sister, she always adapted very well to new schools and did very well academically. On the other hand, I didn’t do so great in school but I always quickly adapted to new social settings. It’s just really a question of basic character in terms of how you adapt, but certainly it influenced my life tremendously.

Jacqueline, how did you find yourself so far from home (Guyana)?
My father was a geologist and so we, too, moved around when I was younger, returning to France when I was six. It was this strong point Gérard and I had in common that attracted us to each other and helped our relationship get started and to grow. We really matched up well in this regard.

We’ve met other people who’ve moved as well in their childhood and in some cases they don’t want to ever move again. With us it was different and it was a very positive part of our lives and again, helped form our character.

Gérard, you are a trained carpenter, correct?
Yes. Again, I studied carpentry as a practical, technical based education in large part because I hadn’t done so well in school. Sure, I was bright enough to do better in my studies but I always had the trouble adapting to the new teachers and classes when we moved.

Playing with words for a moment: Would you say then your start as a designer was because you were (1) a carpenter who was interested in learning and developing his artistic ideas OR (2) a designer – who happened to have learned carpentry – finally getting the chance to express his true calling?
That’s a very good question.

I thought about this a lot before you visited. I think if it had been 5 years ago, I maybe would have answered that I was a carpenter interested in learning more about my craft in general. Today, I feel that I’m much more of a designer who has had training in carpentry.

(Jacqueline interrupts) I don’t totally agree, I really think you’re both.

G: Okay, it’s obviously a difficult question to answer. Sure, a carpenter doesn’t just nail two pieces of wood together. He can be creative in even the basic practice of his trade. It’s like in any other work that requires any amount of creativity.

J: If I think about the past years, I think Gérard was born with this talent and the ability to turn his ideas into lovely creations. Learning to be a carpenter was something that happened by chance and allowed him to be skilled at working with a material like wood. The great advantage he has is that he has the skill to express his ideas in such a beautiful way.

You do have a lot of people that find when they have ideas they don’t know how to bring them to life. It’s the same with me: I may have an idea for our work but I personally have no idea how to do it, that is, actually create the object. Gérard can then take the idea and make it a reality.

G: Yes, it was a plus to have the training and job experience as a carpenter. Still, even if I hadn’t done all that before I think I would have found some way to express my creativity. But designer is not really the word I would use. I think Jacqueline said it best, I think of myself mostly as a creator.

I mean, I never had this step where I had to go get a blank piece of paper and sketch out an idea to see what it should look like. For me, I’ve always been able to visualize my pieces in my head and then just make them. And even if I do rarely use paper to sketch out an idea, it’s only because I want to run it by Jacqueline. So the drawing helps her visualize it as well – just like it’s in my head – and critique it. But this is pretty rare, also because we understand so well what most of the ideas are meant to be and what I’m aiming for.

J: But really he typically just makes the prototype and shows that to me. This is great for me, because he’s always bringing in these wonderful surprises. It’s always so exciting and I love that part of our work together.

What was the inspiration for starting your first designs?
For the pieces you see now, my first inspirations came from the Polynesian culture. Also, I had a really important encounter with a Polynesian artist that was also very significant. And of course, in Moorea the rapport with nature was very strong in influencing my work.

In fact, I think the reason that I initially had success is that I fed off this power I got from the local nature. In my eyes you always have to be ready to make an exchange between nature and your ideas in order to have them work. This was not something I planned or calculated on, but it is an intricate part of my work – including for the range of pieces I presented then and am continuing to show today.

What I mean then by an exchange is that nature provides me for example with a wonderful piece of wood. And when I see this, I know right away what I want to do with it. So I continually feed on this strength.

From the start, you have been fascinated by lighting. What drew you towards designing so many different forms of lamps and working with light?
For me, light represents life. And wood or trees are also an essential part of life in that they provide us with protection, shelter, and many other uses. The mix of these two elements always attracted me and the combination was something I liked very much. Plus light allows for so many interpretations and usages.

Also in Moorea the evening comes very early and the sun sets very quickly. So you really gain an appreciation for light and its importance. I also looked around at other artists and saw that many – especially the younger crowd – started out as well by working with light. There would always be such terrific displays of the different works and crafts at the stands in the market. So for me it was an obvious starting point.

In comparison, creating furniture is different. It seems to me that furniture always has the same type of lines, its square or has basically the same form and function. But with lighting you can have different categories, including hanging lamps or standing pieces. There are just so many ways to use it and to express it creatively.

How would you best describe the art and design of Tahiti to someone who is not familiar with the region or its people?
The Tahitian people are not artists in the sense of what we think of as ‘beau art’ (fine art) makers. Instead, they create their art out of necessity, when they need something they make it both functional and also they pleasing to the eye. Actually, in terms of my work, it was only after we moved back to the Alsace when someone said “wow, this is art” or “wow, Gérard you’re an artist.”

Traditionally, the art in Tahiti includes wood sculptures, or objects made out of stone, or that even made from the mother of pearl, the shiny black sea-shells that come from there. Really though, they work with any kind of material they find, whatever nature provides them with. They also incorporate a lot of weaving from available fibers, including from vines or coconut husks. They’ll make hats, baskets, the roofing of their houses, and so much more. The people there are very manually skilled and it seems like they’re almost born with this talent.

In particular, the artists of Tahiti per se create sculpture. They do really nice statues, some truly amazing things. It’s funny, but the art of Tahiti and even New Zealand is not very well known. Usually most people are familiar with African art or even Asian art but Polynesian art is not really that well known. Well, I can say from experience that this is true in Europe, where most people probably can’t even find Tahiti on the map or even maybe confuse it with Haiti (note ZN: I don’t think the USA would win any geography contests either).

J: Gérard’s work in Tahiti was in so many ways a struggle because he was showing a kind of new face of Polynesian art. His designs were actually more contemporary than what the locals offered. But this also helped attract the interest of European and American tourists.

G: I mean, I could really only base my work on the present, that is, the time we experienced there. We weren’t natives, so naturally it was easier for me to create a more contemporary style of art compared to more traditional Polynesian works. After all, you need to know and experience the rich traditions of Polynesia in order to truly understand the traditional arts. Their traditional art is so intertwined with their culture. Still, it was for me an unbelievable inspiration and I was able to integrate this into my work immediately.

Maybe with the more “contemporary” Polynesian style of art that I make, well, perhaps you don’t really need to understand the object in order to appreciate it. The form of the object or the design or even the painting is enough to make you think it’s nice. If you want to define it a little better, I think of my work as ‘something done by Gérard Dumora with Tahitian inspiration’. For example, take the columns you’ve mentioned: for me, they’re something that was created and made in Europe but they were born in Tahiti. This ‘tower’ design really evolved only once we were back in France, even though I tried to put as much of Tahiti into as I could.

The pieces I’ve worked on here have perhaps less to do with nature than my previous work in Tahiti. There when I was using wood I might look for hours in the forest for the right starting pieces or I might also try to find some coconut fiber or other materials to use. This was very important to me as so much of not only my materials but also inspiration was provided by nature, or the marine life or how the locals lived. I want to work to keep the modern and the traditional in balance, where I am always trying to integrate one with the other.

Tahiti was just one step, one part of what I do. We left with the goal of not doing just Polynesian work once we returned. And here in France, my inspiration comes a lot from the environment here. Who knows, if we had moved to India – which we considered – I would have found some great inspiration from the environment there. My creations are definitely not tied to fashions or current trends; instead my inspiration comes from what is around me.

Of course as you may hear all the time, the difficulty when you work this way is creating pieces that catch the right moment, that are going to be fashionable in some way now. In many ways, some of my pieces have turned out to NOT be suitable for the present tastes of consumers. But we might find that later on, they are suddenly quite fashionable.


Continued in Part 2: “Working Together and Tales of the Trendy Tub”

A Little Shop Just Out Back and Thousands of Miles Away

An interview with Gérard Dumora and Jacqueline Lauth of Pacific Art Design
Part 2 of 2 (link to Part 1)

Jacqueline, as the designated “manager” of your design company, I understand that you started the “business” by literally selling from a small stand in front of your house?
Yes, it was like selling bananas at a road-side stand. After being in Moorea for a while, I decided to look for a job and worked in a finance office for a while, where I gained a lot of experience in export markets and generally in how to run a business.

At the beginning, Gérard worked for various hotels, for example building kitchens and also did some renovation work in parallel to his designing. He would work all week as much as he could on his art and then on Saturdays and Sundays we’d promote it out by the road, because a lot of American tourists would come by. Still, with his work – both professionally and creatively – he really lacked the time to promote his pieces as much as he wanted to.

So we mutually agreed that I would stop my job and work to promote his art full time. I found that I really had a good knack for helping explain the works to people. Amazingly enough, we even found that I could earn within 2 days more than I did in 1 month at my old job! Some of it might be because my English is a little better and I could interact more especially with the American tourists, which was very helpful. People from the USA would always buy more than other tourists because they had a higher import allowance.

So, yes, at the beginning I had a table out in front of our home office with a sign saying “Artisanat d’Art” (hand-made art). What was nice was that we had just one road on the island, so if people were out walking or riding their bikes they would eventually pass by our house. We would display Gérard’s pieces in front by the road and my job was to act as a greeter or “hostess”, literally like some upper-end art galleries have when you walk in.

I’d offer the people coffee and we’d sit and talk a while. This worked out really well in that often they’d want even more than what we had on hand at the time, or would request special creations for their specific decoration needs. It was very common even that our visitors would take 1-2 hours to choose specific pieces and it really became a kind of social event or party when they’d “shop”. The only time we weren’t open was Sunday morning. But starting promptly at 2 p.m. Sunday through the whole week we were almost always open, even later into the night depending on when people would just drop by. And on Moorea, because the life there was so tied into the sun and the available light, the whole island was up and running full at 7 a.m.. So the days were very busy indeed.

But it was great, because lots of our customers would visit each time they came to the island and many became good friends of ours over time. Polynesian tradition puts a lot of emphasis on entertaining guests and being good hosts, so we definitely wanted everyone to always feel welcome!

So from our tiny, little road-side venture a bigger business was born: when Gérard started, we would sell a couple of lamps per month. By the time we left the island, our business was up to 50 lamps per month. It was about this that we then decided to leave and return to the Alsace, though we didn’t just leave overnight. In fact, Gérard started preparing me for the change about 1½ years before our departure so we could prepare ourselves.

This wasn’t so easy, especially for me, even though we knew we wanted to move on eventually. I was very happy with the lifestyle there and just loved working in front of the lagoon. I thought I could just sit there forever smoothing out pieces or entertaining customers. The almost 7 years we were there was just an absolute pleasure.

Living in Tahiti was really for us like being part of a big family, there was really a kind of tribal spirit in Moorea. People there live day-to-day; they don’t worry necessarily about tomorrow. When you live every day for itself, you enjoy more of life, you take the day as it comes. Living in this way guarantees a unique type of liberty, and you really have in many ways more freedom. Here you know people, but more as individuals.

As the managing partner of Gérard (in more ways than one!), what was it like to create a business together in addition to your private life?
Well, clearly for me it was a nice change to not have to go work for a boss and have to get up early just to leave on time. Sure we worked hard but the focus and motivation was very different.

The decision to help support Gérard was very easy however. I saw almost immediately once Gérard began focusing more and more on his art that he had immense potential. Even after selling only 1 or 2 lamps, I knew then he would succeed and that people would love his work. I was just so confident, I was completely sure that he would succeed, I don’t know how else to say it.

How does it work in terms of the design process? Can you, Jacqueline, for example tell Gérard that he should change something?
As I mentioned earlier, whenever Gérard is working on something or creating a new piece, he will show it to me. I’m always the first to see it and he will ask me if I like it, what I think about it. I really can tell that my input is very important to him and that he wants to know what I think.

G: I do follow her inputs as much as possible. If her input fits in with my inspiration, then I will modify what I’m working on because this is a way I can see it better. Other times, I may just leave it the way it is. I mean, sometimes she’ll say to me that something doesn’t work but I’ll keep working on it. Well, okay to be honest, when I do that, usually the piece doesn’t sell.

It’s funny though, but as an artist I sometimes find that I have regrets having sold some really beautiful pieces I’ve made. Sometimes that’s just the way an artist see’s their work. I still find the business side a bit difficult to integrate even if I don’t think or consider myself an artist. But I do realize that we have to live, that I have to make choices and sometimes sell works that have personal connections. But this is part of the normal ups and downs of being an artist.

How or when do you find your best inspirations?
Sometimes its owing to the business, or let’s say, when business is a little down. You could say, when we only have 20 cents left in our wallets, its then that I get the best ideas. I guess that when you don’t have any money, the whole process takes on a higher sense of urgency. It makes you focus on your work.

I will have phases though when the inspiration really comes well. Sometimes the gears mesh well together and the whole machine runs very smoothly. It’s too bad, because you can’t control inspiration. There will be some times I really want to create something and go out and work for hours in the shop, but the inspiration isn’t there. You can’t just call it up on command.

And when the inspiration doesn’t come, you get a bit down. You ask yourself if you can still create, are you still capable of creating? But the magic eventually finds its way back.

Is it difficult to work in a business together as a couple?
J: Its different for us, that is, who we are as the couple at home and the couple who is working together. I will say though that one thing that doesn’t change for me is that I have to believe in him 1’000%. And when you combine these two aspects, you need to be ready to hold on in the difficult times. If for one second you have hesitation and you don’t believe anymore you have to stop.

Is it more difficult living in France now than it was in Tahiti?
J: No, not really. At the beginning of our stay in Tahiti, it was also difficult. Not really difficult but it was a bit as we say in French “folklorique”, we just had to get used to the way of living, the customs and how things were done around us.

On the other hand, people here in Europe are sometimes not so open. That is a big difference, where on an island like Moorea, everyone knows each other, what you’re doing in terms of art. And you’re respected for that, especially within a similar group or sphere of similar artisans.

But in Europe there’s definitely not the same spirit in terms of being open. Well, maybe this is too critical. Its not that they’re not so open but the step to create something and then sell it is more difficult in Europe compared to Polynesia. In Europe, its in so many ways much more about being an individual among so many talented artists of all kinds. I guess its like the expression about being a small fish in a big sea.

J: In the case of Tahiti, again, because everyone knew us and knew about Gérard’s talents, for example, when somebody needed a lamp, they’d come see us. Everybody there – businessmen, politicians, hotels, you name it – all had one of Gérard’s creations. Here you have to face much more anonymity and the time it takes to penetrate a market is much longer in Europe. Still, we did want to come back to Europe not only for personal reasons but to establish a name for Gérard in the Northern Hemisphere.

But still, starting at zero in France was really a wake-up call for us!

Do you find yourself slowly losing in any way the influence of Tahiti?
G: No, this will always be in my heart, in our hearts. Even if I’m not using the exact materials today that I used on the island – like wood types for example – I always try to use when possible other materials like maybe mother of pearl.

In terms of needing to be physically in Tahiti, we realize we don’t have to go back every year. A part of us, a part of our being will always be there. And the spirit of Tahiti will always be with us. Plus we have lots of friends there and do stay in contact.

Describe a little bit more about the materials you used in Tahiti or even use still from there today?
G: The wood in Tahiti was wonderful. One of the greatest things for me as a designer was that there was such an enormous variety and selection of wood there including tropical types, lychee wood and much more. There are more than 1’600 different varieties of wood to choose from, of all colors, grains, and textures. For example, the Polynesian acajou is totally different to African or American acajou (ZN: cashew).

Are there other materials you’d be interested in trying?
For a creator every material can be interesting. And when I’m interested in a particular material that I haven’t used before, then I go to a professional who works with that material so I can learn more.

As an artist I think that when any material is interesting, I will find a feeling in how to use it. In terms of trying other types, I would like to learn to work with as many materials as possible – for example, leather, glass, metal, etc. As long as I’m working, I’ll have interest in learning more.

One new inspiration and desire I have in terms of learning about “new” materials is to work more with recycling, or to put it slightly differently, with what industry throws away. I think in this area, everything is possible. So many things are produced and they’re already here and available, but either they’re discarded by industry or by consumers without even considering how they can be (re-)used. My main target would be to find a material or type of object that is self-sustainable, with one thing always making another which leads back to the first.

Again, in Tahiti, I would walk through the forest for hours to find the piece I needed, and when I did, it was right even down to the tiniest detail. But today we utilize less from nature and rely more and more on industry, so I really believe we can do something here. I want to find and use pieces or materials that can be used in a different context.

Along these lines you’ve enjoyed a great deal of success and received a lot of publicity for your Trendy Tubs® designs. These seem to be completely opposite in terms of your Tahitian art approach. How did you come to this idea?
In terms of the design or inspiration, the philosophy is different than my other art and is as I mentioned before very focused on ecology and recycling. It’s definitely a breakaway to my “traditional” work, but they have provided a lot of welcome exposure. Sure, maybe sometime people insist that the Trendy Tubs are not really “design” per se, but I think its positive in that it does show my diversity as a creator and designer. Now I’m not just an artist creating lamps or other “Polynesian” art but I can reach a completely different audience.

For example, when we returned, it was very difficult to put our range of Polynesian products on the market. Making the columns we talked about was the first step and we also had a nice contact base. But the release of the Trendy Tubs was really the breakthrough moment for our business. And as I said before, timing is so important, where this time we seemed to have gotten it just right in terms of addressing not only people’s needs, but also their interests and how the trends are moving. They’re very universal, fashionable, and to be honest, a lot more price conscience for access to a wider audience.

In terms of the process for creating the Trendy Tubs: well, it was really the same as designing a lamp. A lot of people want to write that the Trendy Tubs were some kind of genius idea; but for me, it was something just waiting to be made that had not been done before. But clearly I was inspired to make something with the advantages of being both accessible and understandable.

And even if these are completely different in almost any way you can think of, for me it was still very much a creative journey. The needs in terms of working up the inspiration aren’t the same maybe in that with my other pieces I am working very much with nature. Here its much more about helping nature and in fact using materials that might otherwise hurt the environment.

The Trendy Tubs have also provided a big opening for us in the decorative market. And again this leads to exposure, people are noticing it. The other way – e.g. starting with a lamp – wasn’t universal enough. So I kind of think of the Trendy Tubs as a kind of calling card that introduces Pacific Art Design to a much wider audience, even if sometimes its now “Gérard Dumora, creator of the Trendy Tubs… and oh yes, he does also Polynesian inspired art…”

For now I will just say then that the Trendy Tubs have opened a new lane, a new avenue for all of my creations because there’s a lot of potential for this product. And new variations are on the way! What you see now is just the first step, its just the beginning of the adventure I’ve got in mind. But I’ll reserve more details about the surprises in store for later when we move to the launch!

What’s next for you both, as well as for Pacific Art Design and the whole Trendy Tub collection?
Again, the next evolution of the Trendy Tubs will come later this year (about April ’09). In terms of my interest in working with “recycling” (ZN: maybe “pre-cycling”?), I’ll also be doing a lot of sniffing around in terms of regional production and getting to know what’s out there in terms of possible materials which can be used.

And as last year, we’ve just gotten back from presenting our work at the Maison&Objet in Paris, which allows us to promote both our Polynesian art as well as the Trendy Tubs. It’s an exhausting process but always very positive for us where every year we get more and more exposure and meet lots of nice people interested in our offers. And I really want to focus this year on getting the Trendy Tubs running more independently so that I can focus more again on pure creation!

Rather than tying down the end of this article with a lot of repetitive qualifications and features in terms of where Gérard (that’s him here on the left) and Jacqueline have exhibited their work or other tid-bits, we’d just invite all of our readers to again visit both the Pacific Art Design and Trendy Tub web-sites.

Instead we’d like to use the space to feature many of our favorite photos of lovely lamps, fantastic detail work – from combinations of unfinished and dark finished woods, or use of mother-of-pearl or other offers from nature to enhance a piece – to the use of traditional Tahitian symbols that alone mean “wave” or “dolphin” but repeated and placed together give even more lively shapes or the feeling of standing before some mysterious totem pole… and of course, everybody’s favorite tub of a thousand-and-one uses.

Enjoy finding your favorite!