The Enabler
Robert Volhard: Michel, I’m sure you receive a lot of requests from designers looking to collaborate?
Michel Roset: We receive a great many requests – several hundred a year, and up to 80 a quarter. Our collection is intended to evolve continuously: furniture, rugs, lighting, accessories. We therefore select our projects with great care. Quality does not come from quantity.
Patrick, can you still remember your first collaboration with Ligne Roset?
Patrick Jouin: Yes, that was a long time ago. Back then, I was given a so-called carte blanche by VIA (Valorisation de l’Innovation dans l’Ameublement). Unfortunately, that programme no longer exists today. VIA was a real springboard. The entire French furniture industry had created this platform to connect young designers with the industry. For many, it would otherwise have been impossible to finance a prototype. Through VIA, we were able to experiment, test ideas and work with industry partners at a very early stage. It was a golden era and, to my knowledge, unique worldwide.
Michel Roset: And that’s how we met. Patrick presented his first sofa project in 1998.
Patrick Jouin: It wasn’t a success. The project was too complex, the price too high. But the idea behind it was exciting: combining a real sofa and a real bed in a single piece of furniture. And through VIA, you discovered many designers back then.
Michel Roset: That’s true. But it was never just about designs or products. Communication played an important role, but it isn’t enough on its own. What matters is whether a product is still relevant five or ten years down the line. Sustainable success doesn’t come from short-term visibility.
Michel, you’re regarded as someone who recognises creative potential very early on. How do you determine that?
Michel Roset: There’s no formula for it. For me, it’s about human connection: trust, psychology, the personal relationship. It’s not just the portfolio that matters, but whether you can envisage a long-term collaboration.
We’re sitting here on the new “Karen” chair for Ligne Roset. What makes it stand out?
Patrick Jouin: “Karen” is designed for both residential and contract use. That’s why there are two versions: with wooden legs for residential use and with steel legs for contract use. Of course, the wooden version can also be used in contract settings.
I can confirm that; the chair is very comfortable, almost cosy.
Patrick Jouin: At the moment, it’s still a prototype. We’ll make it a bit wider and the foam slightly firmer – basically, the finishing touches.
Patrick, what makes working with Michel Roset special for you?
Patrick Jouin: It’s about culture and trust. Objectively speaking, the world doesn’t need another chair or another sofa. But there is a human need for invention. At the beginning, an idea is fragile – a sketch, almost nothing. And sometimes you see it in the other person’s eyes: there’s something there. That moment justifies carrying on.
Michel, what must design achieve today to be relevant and commercially successful?
Michel Roset: The greatest challenges today lie less in design itself than in industrial reality: skilled workers, craftsmanship, supply chains. Without qualified people, projects are massively delayed. That is a central issue of our time.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Patrick Jouin: Trust your own intuition. I learnt that from Philippe Starck. Your first instinct is often the right one, you have to learn to trust it.
Michel Roset: For me, the key is to develop a business responsibly and with a long-term perspective – together with my family and staff. Loyalty and continuity are our real strengths.
What does your future collaboration look like?
Michel Roset: Patrick is free to come and go as he pleases. If he knocks, we’ll open the door.
Patrick Jouin: Our collaboration is never planned. It arises from conversations, ideas and shared moments – just as it always has.
