Writing the story of your decor with (feathered) quills

“Feathers are a natural material with a structure that is far too complex to reproduce. For birds, they are simultaneously a form of protective armor, camouflage, a language, and a navigational instrument. They refract light and create an incomparable sheen.” Julien Vermeulen is a fine craft artisan. Based in the aptly named village of Coutures, in the Maine-et-Loire region of France, and a winner of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize pour l’Intelligence de la Main, his clientele includes many couture houses and fine jewelers. Over the past few years, this feather-maker has also become a visual artist, creating jet-black panels featuring shimmering hues like those you might find on a painting by Soulages. “Fashion imposes many constraints,” he says. “The body that moves, the fastenings, complex volumes…I began by creating panels using feathers like a painter’s palette. Now, I’m opening up to the world of interior design.” Alongside interior designer Stéphanie Coutas, Julien Vermeulen has just presented the Cambium side table, whose pedestal contains inlaid featherwork, as well as the Valentina lamp in a version that’s beautifully corseted with plumage, affixed using gilded threads and cotton. Stéphanie Coutas is a great connoisseur of fine craftsmanship.  Bronze, precious woods, crystal, and embroideries are part of the language she uses for her luxurious decorative settings or her range of exceptional furniture. “This is a joint project,” she says. “The artisans arrive with their samples, and I take them in a direction they never would have imagined.” She is delighted with this first experience, so rare is it to see feathers within luxury decor. “I worked for 15 years in fashion,” she states. “My design and architecture studio operates like a Haute Couture house. Julien’s work appealed to me immediately.” Introduced to each other by the Galerie Parisienne, which represents Julien Vermeulen, their first encounter was truly effervescent. “People often think of the frilly frou-frou, boa-wearing side of feathers, but they really do have a thousand faces,” says Julien. “You have to use them the way you use color.” After this first initiative, Stéphanie Coutas is envisioning feathered insets in wall panels, where their sheen would contrast with matte plaster, like a sophisticated painting. As for Julien Vermeulen, he’s now thinking about seat backs, folding screens, and velvet made from ostrich strands. “We’ve just acquired a loom so that we can offer a range of interior fabrics,” he says. There’s no doubt that the feathers will soon be flying,