Thursday
April 25, 2024 
As a child in Paris after World War II, Eric Guy was exposed to a wonderful world of exquisite furniture.
He later studied at the prestigious Ecole Boulle, a college of fine arts and crafts in Paris, eventually turning his knowledge and skills into designing handmade furniture, emphasizing the beauty of the past.
Now, at his shop in Springtown, he is listening to his own inner artist and trending away from the ornate toward more modern design, turning his hand to a stripped-down elegance while also incorporating something of the past into the present.” He said, “I’m moving forward.”
About 30 years ago, the Frenchman moved to New York City where he ran a shop as an antique dealer and did restoration work. “My main focus now is creating new ideas, new designs to market,” he said.
He is a third-generation craftsman and artist, the son of an architect and grandson of a decorator. “It runs a little bit in the blood,” he said.
Ten years ago, he left New York and moved to a shop tucked behind a handsome white porch on Springtown’s Main Street. “I have the best porch in town. I love it,” he said. As we sat there on ornate metal chairs for an open air, masked interview, it was easy to see how much he likes the picturesque village.
A focal point in the shop’s Dickensian windows is a tall dollhouse exhibiting the flavor of a Parisian townhouse. He made it for his daughter.
Behind the storefront is a cozy, and attractive, woodworking shop, complete with a Mandarin orange tree. Short on machinery and long on hand tools, the shop features all the necessary equipment for making handmade furniture using traditional techniques.
As Eric described his journey from metropolis to village, it seemed to parallel what had happened in Paris.
Guy said his grandfather, Henry Fauconnet, a successful decorator, often took him to the Louvre, where he sought inspiration, and to the 12th Arrondissement, “where I was surrounded by fantastic antiques.” World-class furniture makers worked and displayed their wares in that quarter before high rents forced them to leave the city and move into the countryside. “It was sad,” he said. “All that is gone now.”
But Guy is not sad about moving to Springtown, which he thinks is a particularly charming village. “The people are very friendly and they have been very supportive,” he said.
What Guy himself has left behind is his work on period pieces. He is trending now more toward his own creations. “I make the kinds of furniture that are seen in fine houses,” he said. “Very high-end.” He added, “I try to use what history has given me.”
Most of his customers come from the tri-state area, he said, but he also noted some of his work has been shipped out of the country
He has often returned to Paris, but COVID-19 travel restrictions have temporarily suspended those journeys. Still, it’s easy to see he still misses his birthplace “Every inch of Paris has a history,” he said, “and the parks are so lovely. Spring is the most beautiful moment of Parisian life.”
His need to create his own designs has been going on for some time. A line of elegant etagers that he created 10 years ago can be used either to display possessions or as bookcases. “They are luxuriously and carefully crafted with solid brass,” he said. An agent in New York handles their sales for him.
Guy also particularly likes to work with solid wood and often incorporates synthetic materials in his designs. One especially interesting piece in the shop is a modern live-edge console table and bench made of solid walnut with a frost finish.
The creation of a beautiful piece of furniture is what matters most to him now. And he’d like to share the magic feeling of creativity. He’s planning to teach woodworking and design classes in the near future.
More information at ericguyinc.com.
kathrynfclark@verizon.net
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