Le Tramac

Creative and playful, sisters Cassandra and Anouchka Lefebvre De Lange (aka Le Tramac) are on a mission to make furniture fantastic, colourful and fun. Juliet Pospielovsky reports 

Above: Cassandra and Anouchka Lefebvre De Lange

Amongst the warren of unremarkable industrial units and warehouses just off Bollo Lane on the Acton/Chiswick border, two visionary young designers, who operate under the name Le Tramac, are putting the flair and fun back into furniture making. While some of their gloriously imaginative chairs and chaise longues, bureaux and bedheads, mirrors and dressing tables are destined for bijoux retail outlets, the majority of the duo’s work is sold from their website by word of mouth, often after customers have read rave reviews in the Sunday papers or the smarter glossies.

With their blonde good looks and bold approach to marketing – they  have taken to dressing up in rather outrageous costumes and posing on lavish-looking stage sets that incorporate their furniture designs – siblings Cassandra and Anouchka Lefebvre De Lange, aged 26 and 28, have attracted huge attention since bursting onto the design scene two years ago. ‘We do try to inject a little mischievousness into everything we do,’ smiles Anouchka.‘Our world is one of fantasy and fun, colour and creativity.’

Brought up in an artistic household, the offspring of a Dutch mother and French father, the girls spent an idyllic childhood in southern Spain, an environment in which their youthful imaginations were stimulated by the hot Mediterranean colours and the shapes and textures of nature. Passionate about interior design from an early age, the sisters furnished their bedrooms with geometrical furniture and painted the walls with jungle and garden scenes. ‘We’d build treehouses and deck them out with treasures or sleep under the stars during the holidays,’ recalls Cassandra. ‘It was a very fertile time.’

That artistic streak brought them both to London to study at Central Saint Martins and the Chelsea College of Art and Design – Anouchka specialising in Theatre and Costume Design and Cassandra in Interior Design and Architecture. In the summer of 2005, they joined forces and set up their own furniture studio. ‘It seemed completely natural to work together in our professional life,’ says Anouchka. ‘What we do is an evolution of our childhood games, but now overlayered by so more sophisticated influences.’

From their W4 workshop the girls currently produce seven excitingly different Le Tramac collections, including the popular Lollypop and  Les Tropiques ranges. The neon-coloured Lollypop collection features high quality, high gloss PVC, inspired by, yes, gigantic lollypops and it recently featured at London Fashion Week, while Les Tropiques is based on traditional French antiques that have been given a contemporary spin with bright velvet upholstery and lush hand-painting. For those less keen on explosions of hot colour, their Bauhaus collection is hand-painted in matt primary colours, and the sophisticated Noir et Blanc range evokes the dynamism of the jazz era.

‘Everything seemed bleak in England when we first arrived. So, we wanted to brighten up interiors because we were used to the warmth and colour of Spain,’ says Cassandra. ‘There is definitely a niche in the furniture market for our work. People are bored with minimalist interiors and want to express their individuality more strongly. Our designs mix classic and contemporary, but with a tongue-in-cheek twist.’  

In the early days, the sisters used to trawl Europe in a van for antiques that they could then re-condition. However, working by hand and creating mainly one-offs inevitably had its limitations, not the least being that their customers wanted the same designs time and time again – and that wasn’t always possible.

Although they still produce their one-off Couture collection – a single chair can take 48 hours or more to paint – over the last few months they have been devoting most of their time to the Classique collection, a line of reproduction Louis furniture that is made to order. These pieces are made by a traditional family firm in Spain but, as you would expect, feature Le Tramac’s signature colours. Depending on how much work is involved, the furniture in the Classique and Couture ranges is priced from £350 to £4,000.

‘We’re very excited about the first Classique designs to be imported to the UK,’ says Anouchka. ‘For example, the Lolita bedheads, which are upholstered in jewel shades of velvet, are sumptuous and bring instant glamour to any bedroom.’ Also in development is the new Simplement range, a slightly more understated version of the Couture and Classique lines that will provide the perfect option for those who aren’t so adventurous when it comes to colour.  Whatever the future holds for this innovative pair, it’s sure to be hot. And will their mission to brighten up Britain’s homes eventually be diluted? ‘That will never happen,’ they insist. ‘Colour is so important to us.’ Le Tramac’s new showroom (open by appointment) is at 69 Walton Street, SW3 2HT;

07843 443121; www.letramac.com