The newsletter of raw materials & delicate inspirations by Laurent PASSE,
creative cabinetmaker in Provence
September 2025
The alchemy of burnt wood
Under the flame,
the material darkens,
the imperfections of the wood disintegrate, but its depth emerges, opening the way to a rebirth.
Under the flame,
the ancient wood is revealed,
through the gesture it is transformed.
Burnt wood takes center stage in this September letter.
Perhaps as you read it, you will feel an inner warmth?
Laurent,
Beautiful Souls
Already showcased a few months ago, the charred wood kitchen at Domaine des Belles Âmes is rediscovered with new photos.
At Karine Le Marchand’s, charred wood is featured in the kitchen, the dining room table, and the fireplace surround in the living room!
A « living art » project just minutes from the heart of Aix-en-Provence.
Sologne
In the welcoming Sologne region, charred wood expresses a profound tranquility.
At Domaine Larchevêque, the outdoor kitchen and spa open up like a refuge, combining raw warmth and understated luxury.
In this Eric Larchevêque property, dedicated, among other things, to executive exchange sessions, charred wood once again brings that extra touch of soul.
A place where time slows down and the mind is cleared.
This project was designed in collaboration with interior designer Marine de la Chaise.
Mon Côté Sud avec Jamy
When I’m the guest of the guest!
I had the pleasure of welcoming Jamy Gourmaud to the workshop to highlight upcycling and the workshop’s expertise.
Jamy, who knows my work well, was kind enough to invite me onto his show, Mon Côté Sud, hosted by Carole Gaessler.
The beautiful footage of Jamy burning the patchwork buffet will be broadcast at the end of the year on France 3.
Congratulations to the LPasse Design team for their dedication and a big thank you to the entire film crew for this exceptional moment!
Polymnia’s Buffet
Currently available in the showroom: the « Polymnia Buffet. »
A 3-door buffet in burnt wood with a steel base and vintage handles.
In bookstores
Burnt Wood is also in bookstores this September.
Writer Nathalie Boisseau interviewed me a few months ago at Eyrolles publishing house about burnt wood, and more specifically about the popularity it has generated in decoration and interior design.
Far beyond its relevance to construction, this book details the appropriation of burnt wood around the world by exceptional architects, designers, and craftsmen.
You can find me alongside Terunobu Fujimori, David Nash, and many others, to reveal the origins and modern uses of burnt wood, as well as its aesthetics and philosophy.
Enjoy your reading!
Hubert PASSE – Retrospective
Saturday, October 11
Starting at 5:30 p.m.
Come to the opening of the exhibition
« RETROSPECTIVE » by Hubert PASSE
at the LPasse Design showroom
21 quai de la Paix, 30300 Beaucaire
Would you like to know more about Hubert Passe?
Here is a presentation by his friend Jacques Delvaux, a restorer of old master paintings:
Some people, more than others, live according to what Paul Klee calls—to describe the creative process— »inner necessity. »
Throughout his life, Hubert Passe, to be true to himself, followed this « inner necessity, » refusing to submit in order to create his destiny.
The need to be « oneself » can extend to non-being and border on nothingness…
And then to understand that this nothingness is within oneself, as it is deep within each of us, and to decide to play seriously with the world, the irony of which one has understood.
When Hubert Passe decides to create, he knows that he must develop his own rules along with his work; he does not act this way out of ignorance, but out of necessity: he knows the conventional universe of painted or sculpted form.
He knows the difference between a creation and a copy. True, false, good, bad, virtuoso craftsmanship or naiveté… Throughout his life, he encountered, observed, touched, and discerned thousands of objects; works of all shapes, materials, sizes, origins, periods, and qualities, whose creation followed a wide variety of criteria over the centuries, ranging from the utilitarian to the spiritual, from the highest standards to the lowest deception.
Yet, succeeding in going beyond this erudite knowledge of the work, Hubert Passe breaks free from conventions, offering us something, a kind of evidence, that seems to elude all classification and yet which we feel we recognize.
This is the case with archaeological objects whose existence seems obvious to us even if we no longer know to which civilization or archaic culture they belong, because they reflect what is permanent in humankind, regardless of the necessity that motivated their creation.
They are! They are what man must imperatively express in order to exist in his own eyes, beyond form, since they are more important than form itself: the spiritual, the intellect, humor, the need to create, fear, joy. In this way, we recognize these works as part of our heritage of truth.
Of course, they have a form, colors, but this external aspect, through its need for truth, escapes any artificial classification of « style, » any artistic convention. When they are beautiful, they seem to be so only « by chance. » When they are not beautiful, in the sense of « pretty, » it seems that this is what makes them stronger, and it is only afterward that we understand that in fact they are not « pretty » but perhaps « more beautiful » than the others. When they make us laugh, they remind us that derision and humor are inherent to humanity and that—like tears—laughter is also an aspect of what is most human in us.
Reconciling us with the world around us, Hubert Passe’s work, independent of any elitist concept, is open to everyone; a free, generous, and high-quality work, conveying a lived experience, carried by a material with a predestined name: « quicklime, » a privileged material for a special moment.
Of life, lime, and color, the emotion is there…
Jacques Delvalaux