WORKSHOP
Our History
It is in the bucolic setting of an 18th century Vaudois farm converted into a manufacturing workshop that Laurence Zähner has been practicing the unusual profession of lampshade and light fixture designer for 20 years. After a career in law in France and then in Switzerland, this Parisian discovered her vocation and passionately turned to the world of artistic crafts. She undertook training in Paris for several years with one of the few professionals to teach and pass on the profession.
"The best way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible."
Lewis Caroll
Success at the meeting
Laurence created her first lampshade manufacturing workshop in February 2002. Nestled in the former pigsty of the farm, this modest, dark and low-ceilinged space quickly became an Ali Baba's cave full of lamp bases, lampshades, fabrics, trimmings and frames of all kinds. Success quickly followed and in 2005 the "small-workshop-without-a-name" adopted the company name VdeV CREATION.
In 2013, a shop opened its doors in the city of Lausanne and the same year, titanic transformations began in the rural area of the farm. Two years of work were needed to convert the stables, barn and hayloft into a magnificent, contemporary and bright workshop-showroom. Since 2015, it is in this vast space surrounded by nature and calm that VdeV CREATION has been making its lampshades and lighting fixtures, and receiving its customers.
The approach of an artisan
VdeV CREATION is a member of the Association Vaudoise of Artistic Crafts (AVMA) and the Swiss Association of Artistic Crafts (ASMA). Because crafts and their know-how are essential to our culture, UNESCO decided in 2008 to include these crafts in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity ( UNESCO convention of July 16, 2008 ). In fact, they are a link between the past and the future, a subtle pas de deux between the mind and the intelligence of the hand. Crafts move forward with their time, but the past is never far away.
VdeV CREATION is committed to the development and preservation of the know-how of craftsmen. Over the years, the workshop has continued to improve its knowledge and explore new horizons, but always ensuring that the know-how that has been passed down from generation to generation is perpetuated and preserved.
In this approach, VdeV CREATION has been collaborating for years with a constellation of craftsmen whose professions are inseparable and complementary to that of the lampshade maker: textile designers, trimmings, feather workers, leather workers,
parchment makers, carcasses, mechanics, bronze workers, cabinetmakers, gilders, embroiderers, embossers, pleaters… a festival of know-how and enriching, stimulating, creative encounters.
20 years of experience and creation
For nearly 20 years, our workshop has been putting its experience and creativity to work on the simplest to the most complex projects, producing lighting fixtures of all styles and sizes, individually, in small or large series.
For architects, decorators, hoteliers, restaurateurs or space planners, VdeV CREATION manages projects that include all stages from the design to the manufacturing of lighting fixtures. Our workshop has produced “high tech” lighting fixtures equipped with LED lighting of more than 3 meters for architects and series of more than 300 pieces for the hotel industry.
We invite you to come and discuss your projects and discover our wide choice of templates, frames, materials, textiles, papers, bulbs, lamp bases in our workshop-showroom in La Robellaz, in the heart of the canton of Vaud, or at our boutique in Lausanne.
Contact us to arrange an appointment at 079 637 68 64 or by email info@vdevcreation.com . See you soon!
