UPCYCLING AND HERITAGE ENHANCEMENT
MANIFESTO
Furniture heritage, a testament to centuries of craftsmanship, deserves to be passed on and reimagined rather than destroyed.
Today, many pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries have been pushed to the margins of the market, perceived as cumbersome and unsuited to contemporary ways of living.
Yet they were made using time-honoured craftsmanship and noble materials that have enabled them to endure for centuries.
The paradox is striking: while these high-quality objects already exist, often available at negligible cost, we continue to destroy them and produce new ones.
The paradox is striking: while these high-quality objects already exist, often available at negligible cost, we continue to destroy them and produce new ones.
Hauts Reliefs was born from this contradiction.
« These pieces are not merely objects. They carry the memory of homes, families, and gestures passed down from master to apprentice. To abandon them is to break a chain of transmission. To transform them is to allow them to continue to live. »
Pauline Deschamps
Founder & President, Hauts Reliefs
Founder & President, Hauts Reliefs
THREE FOUNDING CONVICTIONS
HERITAGE
These pieces carry the memory of craftsmanship and family histories. They bear witness to both intimate and collective histories.
ECOLOGICAL
It is essential to promote a circular economy based on valuing precious resources that already exist, rather than producing anew.
ARTISTIC
Working within the constraints of existing objects does not limit creativity, it stimulates it. The antique piece becomes a field of exploration, where contemporary creation finds new ground.
COLLECTION 2026 — FIRST EDITION
3 designers with distinct artistic languages, 5 exceptional craftsmen, 6 reimagined pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries.
A body of furniture heritage brought back with renewed narrative, aesthetic and emotional power.
A body of furniture heritage brought back with renewed narrative, aesthetic and emotional power.
01 — DARK WHISPER
Louis XVI secrétaire
Designers Dominique Picquier and Régis Protière
Designers Dominique Picquier and Régis Protière
02 — C. 19
Gilded wood and stucco mirror, 18th or 19th century
Cheeri (Jean-Baptiste Berthezène and Félix Demargne) & stained-glass artist Nathalie Moschetti, gilder Claire Curot
Cheeri (Jean-Baptiste Berthezène and Félix Demargne) & stained-glass artist Nathalie Moschetti, gilder Claire Curot
03 — LEMON TONIC
Louis XVI coiffeuse
Designer Paul Bonlarron & cabinetmaker Clément Loustau
Designer Paul Bonlarron & cabinetmaker Clément Loustau
04 — D2
19th century chair
Cheeri (Jean-Baptiste Berthezène and Félix Demargne) & production and execution studies by Ateliers Puzzle
Cheeri (Jean-Baptiste Berthezène and Félix Demargne) & production and execution studies by Ateliers Puzzle
05 — SECOND REST
19th century armchair
Dominique Picquier and Régis Protière & upholsterers Zoé Berthet and Amélie Logeais (Maison Berthet Logeais)
Dominique Picquier and Régis Protière & upholsterers Zoé Berthet and Amélie Logeais (Maison Berthet Logeais)
06 — CHECKERS
19th century game table
Designer Paul Bonlarron & cabinetmaker Clément Loustau
Designer Paul Bonlarron & cabinetmaker Clément Loustau
Each piece is available for acquisition.
Details and pricing upon request.
Details and pricing upon request.
ASSOCIATION
Hauts Reliefs is a French non-profit association founded in 2025.
No member of the board of directors receives any remuneration.
100% of profits are reinvested in the association’s missions.
Pauline Deschamps
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
After fourteen years practising law, Pauline made a decisive career shift and became an auctioneer. Her experience at Drouot Estimations and later at Sotheby’s gave her a front-row seat to the progressive devaluation of 18th and 19th century furniture.
Refusing to see this as inevitable, she founded Hauts Reliefs in 2025: an association dedicated to the revaluation of furniture heritage. It is driven by a conviction: beauty can emerge from the lived history of objects.
Refusing to see this as inevitable, she founded Hauts Reliefs in 2025: an association dedicated to the revaluation of furniture heritage. It is driven by a conviction: beauty can emerge from the lived history of objects.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Pauline Deschamps
PRESIDENT
Qualified auctioneer, former lawyer
Marion Bordier Demargne
BOARD MEMBER
Development and management of cultural projects
Florence Berthezène
BOARD MEMBER
Founder of Voyelles Rédaction
Maylis Collet
BOARD MEMBER
Sound engineer and video editor
Paolo Visco
TREASURER
Former CNRS researcher in physics, CEO of an Italian group
Bertrand Fournier Montgieux
BOARD MEMBER
Senior Investment Director
Ina Bremer-Proust
BOARD MEMBER
Lawyer
EXPERT COMMITTEE
Hauts Reliefs has established an independent, volunteer expert committee to guide its strategic decisions. Its members span the fields of heritage, circular economy and cultural entrepreneurship.
An artistic committee is currently being formed to oversee the creative direction of projects and the annual selection of designers and craftsmen.
An artistic committee is currently being formed to oversee the creative direction of projects and the annual selection of designers and craftsmen.
SUPPORT US
Hauts Reliefs is a non-profit association founded in 2025.
It is committed to:
It is committed to:
1.
Developing the practice of heritage upcycling at a larger scale, notably through the creation of a digital platform connecting owners of antique furniture with craftsmen and designers
2.
Designing educational programmes around furniture heritage
3.
Collaborating with schools of design and craft
4.
Ultimately opening a cultural space dedicated to craft and contemporary creation
CONTACT
Acquire, share, support
To acquire a piece from the collection, propose a partnership or support the association.