Founded by ever-curious aesthetes Benoît Astier de Villatte and Ivan Pericoli in 1996, Astier de Villatte is a French lifestyle brand famed for championing traditional craftsmanship and forgotten decorative arts. Best known for its enchanting ceramic dinnerware, which feature minor imperfections that reflect the exclusively-by-hand production process, the brand also creates candles, fragrances and vases – all of which feature subtle idiosyncrasies that make each piece utterly unique.

Since 2000, Astier de Villatte has been based in a bijoux atelier on Paris’s famous rue Saint Honoré that was previously home to an 18th century silversmith’s workshop that was once visited by Napoleon. “We found it by chance,” says co-founder Pericoli. “The boutique was closed for thirty years, which is incredible given that it is situated in one of the most sought-after streets in Paris.” A forgotten boutique, charged with history perfectly fits with their philosophy, and seemed almost predestined to be theirs.

“We are interested in things that have been forgotten,” says de Villatte. “As a result, we are attracted to ancient, obsolete techniques. Having said that, the technique is never an end in itself but only a means to that end. An artisanal technique, however ancient it is, is only interesting if it allows us to make interesting objects.”