Ephtée or the Complicated Art of Trunks

The first thing that strikes you when you enter the Ephtée workshop is the smell of leather and glue. Here, a few kilometres from Bordeaux, at the foot of the Garonne, they work according to traditional methods: the nobility of the gesture and the intelligence of the hand could be the key words. The drawing block has not yielded to computer assisted design, because director Franck Tressens feels it important to preserve a sensitive relationship with the materials and imagination. His strength lies in this abiilty to inspire his customers by tackling the impossible and creating customised, fully personalised pieces. We discover that Vuitton, Hermès and Goyard are not the only ones to design trunks, and that this little company of three people can…