Metalworker Xavier Pauchard not only brought the art of galvanizing steel to France but also took the process to the next level by creating the Marais A Chair (1934), as well as a selection of stools. The quintessential cafe collection, Tolix was both elegant and robust enough to grace the decks of the S.S. Normandie ocean liner, and 80 years after the company was founded, the Tolix name is recognized worldwide as best-in-class furniture. All Tolix furniture is still made in Autun, the same Burgundy town where the company first began. Slight surface abrasions and markings are characteristic of the material and part of its hardworking machine aesthetic.

Photo courtesy of Design Within Reach