Dominique

Dominique (founded in 1922)

The House of interior and design Dominique is founded in 1922 by André Domin and Marcel Genevrière. Comfortable and well-balanced, furniture signed by Dominique is veneered with fine woods such as sycamore maple, amaranth or Macassar mahogany. If decoration is added, it is made of thin copper incrustations and scales, of light sticks of gilded bronze, or sometimes subtle reliefs finely carved. As a result Dominique’s sets are indubitably modern, yet are never afraid to exhibit reminders of a more classic taste when adorned by tapestry by Helen Henry or Raoul Dufy, in doing so recalling the ‘tapissier’ style.
As soon as the year of its foundation in 1922, Dominique is recognized as a house of avant-garde designers by exhibiting a furniture set showing geometric and faceted forms recalling cubism at the Autumn Salon and again at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. In 1929, Domin and Genevrière settle avenue Kléber. During this period they begin to use metal for both utilitarian and aesthetic reasons. The year 1933 marks the beginning of their collaboration with the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. They thus work to equip several Ocean liners like the Normandie, inside which they are entrusted with the interior design of one of the four ‘Grand luxe’ apartments. In the mean time they open their own pavilion at the 1935 Word’s fair and get involved in the design of the ones of the Merchant navy, of the Normandie, and of private architecture at the 1937 Art and Techniques International Exhibition. After World War II, they are also commissioned by the Mobilier National to decorate, among others, the Élysée Palace.
As in most of design houses, André Domin and Marcel Genevrière do not execute themselves the interior, furniture and luminaires carrying their names. Their projects, in the form of nature-size sketches, are assigned to talented craftsmen that carefully realize them. The firm would keep on activities under the management of Alain Domin, André’s son, until 1970.