Ferréol Babin wants to create his own unique design language. The Nantes, France–based woodworker relies on a mix of materials, textures and emotion to strike a balance between form and functionality. “The process of making brings me satisfaction and serenity,” he tells Business of Home. “The final result is the outcome of the process, and more specifically, trying to design and master a shape, while at the same time letting the materials dictate the outcome.”
Born in Dijon, Babin took an early interest in art and design. As a young adult, he earned a degree in space design from L’École Nationale Supérieure d’Art et de Design (ESAD) in Dijon before moving to Japan to study architecture at Nagoya University of Art & Design. “I deliberately chose to study design at art schools in France and Japan,” he explains. “I knew from the beginning that I wanted to explore the dialogue between the necessity of particular products and the creative freedom of designing them.”
After returning to France, he shifted his focus to product design, enrolling at ESAD de Reims, where he obtained a degree in object design in 2012. Babin’s graduation project, a solar eclipse–inspired sconce named Lunaire, caught the attention of Italian lighting brand FontanaArte, which began manufacturing the piece the following year (and still offers it today). “This wall lamp really launched my career,” he says. “Similar to an eclipse, it offers either an intense direct light, or an indirect soft one that spreads on the wall.”
In 2014, Babin was selected for a one-year residency at Fabrica, fashion house Benetton’s communications research center, based in Treviso, Italy—during which he worked on projects ranging from industrial product designs to scenography and conceptual installations. But in his spare time, Babin honed his craft. “I taught myself woodworking on my own, building furniture for my own home,” he says. “I learned to make prototypes as a student, and then used my tools from Japan to experiment with my own techniques.”
Prototypes play a pivotal role in Babin’s work. Before executing any design, he hand-carves a hyperrealistic miniature model out of wood using the same elements as the future piece. “These small models are my only way to communicate the project with the client, and by taking good pictures of them, we can really understand and appreciate how the final result will look,” he explains. “They are also the only reference I’ll have during the whole building process, and all my measurements are taken from them.”
Babin prefers to work alone, using a combination of traditional Japanese hand tools and modern power tools and machines. “Every step of the process is done by me, from driving to the sawmill to select (and load) the woods, to building, sculpting and finishing, and even photography, marketing, and carefully packing the finished piece,” he says.
Materiality reigns supreme for Babin, who mainly works with locally sourced timbers. “I fell in love with wood, not just for the beauty of the material itself, but also the story it tells when you read its veins, knots and scars,” he says. “It’s not a dead or flat material that needs to be perfected in order to be interesting—it’s already alive and fantastic.”
More recently, he completed an immersive weeklong artist residency with Turin, Italy–based design and architecture firm BRH+, which resulted in his first-ever solo exhibition, Fragments, at Friedman Benda in Los Angeles. Currently on display through February 1, 2025, the show features 10 of Babin’s hand-chiseled works, including the highly textured burnt oak Vestige shelf and the boucle-upholstered Chaviré bench, bedecked in plump, gently rounded cushions. “My practice has gradually shifted from product design, where everything is controlled and anticipated, to collectible and sculptural design, where each piece is unique and fully handmade,” he says. “I’ve learned to leave room for the unexpected and the unpredictable.”
Having just finished a handful of commissioned pieces for French designer Pierre Yovanovitch, Babin has plans to release a new line of lamps designed in collaboration with a soon-to-be-named Italian brand in 2025. “My work is constantly oscillating across this blurred and malleable boundary between art and design,” he says. “It’s a constant quest to balance self-expression with utility.”
If you want to learn more about Ferréol Babin, visit his website or Instagram.
