ARCA Ebenisterie: mastering wood savoir-faire

Based right outside Paris, ARCA STL is a multifaceted wood fabrication workshop that blends old world artisanal savoir-faire with new technology. Helmed by master yet maverick cabinet maker Steven Leprizé, the company fabricates everything from custom interior outfits and architectural installations to bespoke furnishings. Its claim to fame is the proprietary Airwood inflatable wood solution—a technique in which sections of wood veneer are raised using various types of air pumps following controlled patterns to achieve specific results. Having exhibited as part of WantedDesign in 2023 and the brand-new ICFF Bespoke section in 2024, Leprizé—the grandson of a carpenter and the son of an agricultural mechanic—spoke to the platform about what makes him tick.

Why is wood such an essential material in contemporary furniture and interior design?
Wood is a magical material. It grows, it’s light, it’s unique, it’s decorative with its unique and infinite colors and patterns. Its mechanical characteristics for construction are indisputable (resistant and light) and has a low cost for both the planet and our wallets. It also smells good. Wood is a primary material that everyone feels in their bones, like the earth, and which takes us back to the creative sources of our evolution.

What are your particular woodworking skills? What types of techniques have you mastered and developed?
I learned basic woodworking at a very early age. I spent a lot of time in my grandfather’s sawmill and by the time I was in high school, began experimenting with different innovative applications. To be able to develop these new techniques, what have now been codified as Airwood and Woowood—a flexible membrane material inspired by animal scales that replaces the need for actual cabinet doors—I had to use traditional tools as well as new high-tech devices, some of which were hijacked. Pulling from science as much as age-old handicrafts, I also worked closely with engineers to develop new types of adhesives, for example. In some cases, these bespoke processes are simple and in others, they’re complicated. Each requires dozens of very important steps: thermoforming, vacuum pressing, digitally guided precision cutting, 3D printing, etc. 

How do the different facets of your business complement each other?
My job, my daily routine, and team form a whole. It’s the decisions taken in the right order and following my logic that drives the company and our projects forward. My colleagues align with this way of thinking, and we feed off each other to help us both evolve as individuals and move the projects at hand along. We start by brainstorming, creating mood boards with both textual and visual material, sketch the initial concepts that we present to our customers and upon approval, generate computer-generated images. Once these renderings are refined in terms of color and proportion, we produce samples and working drawings. Then it’s off to production.

Talk about the nature of your collaborations with designers. What are the main projects you’ve developed so far?
To date, the most important collaborative project I’ve developed is a handbag loosening for luxury fashion house Hermes. I was able to work closely with the art directors to generate unique colors and definitions. I also recently collaborated with a designer friend on an all wood motorcycle. 

Last year, I had an amazing collaboration with an American interior designer on a large, sculptural wood cabinet that we installed in Nebraska.

Find out more about Steven, HERE
To discover more projects by ARCA, visit ArcaEbenisterie.com