Marc Desplaines, the designer of Antoine Proulx furniture, launched his design career in 1992 when a dream revealed the message, he was only “held by freedom.” From those words, he left his position at fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto and conceived his first collection of furniture. He won the Editor's Award for best furniture at New York’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair and poured his life-force and creative energy into building Antoine Proulx into the recognized brand it is today.
Antoine Proulx has been featured in publications including Interior Design, Progressive Architecture and the New York Times; in films including Autumn in New York and The Astronaut’s Wife; and in luxury resorts including The Ritz Carlton and The Four Seasons.
When Marc first started making furniture, he was unique in using bar stock metal not just for decorative purpose but as a structural component. Marc has always preferred being ahead of a trend instead of adding to the bounty of what already exists. Marc’s grandmother, Antoinette Proulx, was the most influential person in his life. Her father built fine homes in New England at the turn of the twentieth century. This legacy of craftsmanship was of the highest importance to him in bringing his own brand to life and has been his true north along the way.
Marc has traced his family roots to the Loire Valley in France, when in 1607 his ancestor, Jean Proulx, left to start life in the New World of North America. Some 400 years later, Marc has moved to Europe to begin a new chapter in his life in Portugal where he explores the country’s rich history of materiality and craftsmanship.
