Lucas Castex

In the heart of the Landes, Lucas Castex explores wood and its texture. His pieces, loaded with a strong aesthetic, testify to his passion for the material. He shapes his “pieces of wood” to offer them a new, sculptural dimension.

Interior designer and craftsman, can you tell us about your background?

Completely self-taught, today I consider myself more as a craftsman than an interior designer. I lived 10 years on Reunion Island in charge of decoration shops. In my garage, I started to create parts with what I had on hand, especially metal. It was when I returned to mainland France in 2015 that I started working with wood. At the same time, I opened a decoration boutique in Biarritz and it was thanks to a meeting that I had the opportunity to work with an architect on interior design and architectural projects. Today, I only work on my “pieces of wood”.

What do you like most about woodworking?

Wood is my Proust madeleine. Especially oak. I started working on this material late, simply for leisure. The raw material was in front of my eyes, I bought some tools, it became a passion and then my full-time job recently. What I particularly like is the ability of this material to make me change my mind. Leaving with a specific desire and that a fiber, a knot, a color inspires me totally different from what was initially planned. A piece of wood that has grown, grown, sometimes hundreds of years, commands a certain respect. In my opinion, it's not just a material to create an object, but a medium to tell a story. I also like the feeling it gives me. Totally impatient in my daily life, I can find myself working repetitive patterns for hours and hours.

Based in the heart of the Landes, how does your environment inspire you? 

My little workshop is located in the heart of the family district of a Landes airial where I grew up. When I work, I see the hundred-year-old oak trees that made my childhood, the pine forest, neighborhood life, my family. I can't spend a day without a walk in the forest with my dogs. More than an inspiration it is my DNA, my base.

Could you present the series of pieces designed for the OROS “On The Table” selection ?

This series for OROS reflects this love I have for the ethnic side with its patterns, colors, repetitions. Design decorative objects that you could hang on your kitchen wall but that you can also use. Objects that I would like that we can look at, touch, use.