The specialist furniture and interior design shop has launched its own line of furniture and accessories.
An initiative that revalues craftsmanship and renders obsolete the triangular relationship between designer, producer and distributor.At the end of the 1950s, Paolo Boffi, president of the kitchens of the same name, met designer Joe Colombo on the ski slopes of the Stelvio. They became friends and decided to work together.The result was one of the icons of the design world, the ‘Carrellone’ or ‘mini-kitchen’, a trolley equipped with hotplates, a fridge, storage and a worktop.
In 2010, Mathieu Winkler, director of Moyard in Morges, befriended designers Olivier Rambert and Singal Mösch. This relationship also gave rise to a piece of furniture, or rather a collection, the first Edition by Moyard ‘family’. ‘To promote my company's expertise, I decided to use my workshops as a means of communication. Even though Moyard has been in existence for almost 200 years, not many people knew about the existence of these spaces. So I decided to organise an art and design exhibition there.’
Every two years, this biennial event showcases the work of contemporary designers (painter Olivier Saudan, visual artist Flynn Maria Bergmann and photographers Daniela Droz and Tonatiuh Ambrosetti) in places where artisans usually work.‘In 2012, at the second edition, Olivier Rambert, Singal Mösch and I launched ‘Noch ein Tisch’, the first piece of furniture in the Edition by Moyard line.’
The response to this simple, yet beautiful solid wood table was such that the three designers decided to add seven more items to the family.‘The key concept behind these editions is that everything should be local: we manufacture in Switzerland, using local woods and know-how.The craftsman is at the heart of the product, and has as much say in it as the designer.


It's a clever way of raising the profile of the furniture craft after a particularly difficult period for the industry's self-employed, who have been hit hard by the crisis and unfavourable exchange rates.
We're not in an industrial context at all,’ he says, ’but rather one-off, small-scale production. As far as possible, Mathieu Winkler uses the professionals and materials available in his workshops. I'm a producer and a retailer,’ he says, ’so that's where I can be competitive, with no extra margin being taken by a third party.It's thanks to this ‘economy’ that I can afford the luxury of not calculating production costs. And I don't do any packaging. I take the furniture out of the warehouse, put it in the lorry and deliver it to the customer, without any packaging. That's another way of cutting costs.
But let's do the maths. The large 240 x 90 cm table, which retails for 5,650 francs in its oiled solid oak version, requires at least 4 days' work by a cabinetmaker paid at an hourly rate of 90 francs. The raw materials alone cost 1,500 francs. Thirty-two hours times 90 equals 2880 francs, to which must be added the 1500 for materials. Total: 4380 francs. So the margin is not large, not forgetting that ten per cent of the selling price goes to the designers, or almost 600 francs for this piece.
By way of comparison, with a publisher such as Cassina, the designer is either paid a flat fee with no profit-sharing, or receives royalties on each sale, which generally do not exceed 2% of the price.
The fact remains that, for the same price, it is easier to sell a mass-produced table bearing the label of a great name in Italian design than a piece made entirely by hand and individually. It's a challenge for Mathieu Winkler: ‘You have to educate the customers, explain the techniques, talk about the craftsmen... But they love it! It makes them realise the work that goes into each piece and why the final price is justified.

What's important in this type of collaboration is its experimental dimension,’ notes Alexandra Midal, design historian and theorist, independent exhibition curator and head of the Master of Design and theoretical courses at HEAD in Geneva. The publishing or distribution house that vouches for projects of this nature gives designers the time they need to confront their ideas with reality, and frees them from the imperatives of industrial production. That's very good news for our times! Research time is essential for creation, but not many freelancers can afford it. For the specialist, it's a return to the spirit and tradition of Italian design from the 1960s, a design that was committed and took risks.
After furniture, Edition by Moyard has launched a line of bags with Lausanne-based brand Prism, whose designer Fabien Baudin was also ‘first and foremost a friend’... ‘We started from his patterns and made the pieces using textiles and leathers made for furniture and never used for fashion accessories,’ explains Mathieu Winkler. In the studio, between two curtains, my quilters started making bags.
For this first limited series, Moyard has chosen classic furniture prints such as toile de Jouy, fruit and geometry. The retail price of the Edition by Moyard bag in collaboration with Prism is 280 francs. ‘For the lining, we initially chose a simple cotton. But we didn't like the result. I found scraps of glacé linen in the depot, a textile used in furniture and worth 200 francs a metre. We used them to make these linings.
Mathieu Winkler finances this diversification by borrowing from his company's marketing budget. Economically, I'm not making a very good return,’ he continues. But, apart from the personal satisfaction I get from this venture, it helps me to promote the Moyard name in a different way.’ In terms of image, the circle is a virtuous one, since by associating with brands whose clientele is between 20 and 30 years old, the director is introducing the name of his company to new prospects. At the same time, he is looking after his traditional customers who are looking for the nobility of handcrafted products.
Other editions will follow, such as an author's book or a multiple produced by Basel artists. As for the studios on rue de Lausanne, they are continuing their transformation into a Morgian Soho, welcoming studios of designers, photographers and graphic artists. ‘Every first Thursday of the month, we organise a concert, a rehearsal for musicians who don't usually play together. Finally, from next year, we will be opening a temporary exhibition space on the ground floor of the building.’
This is a return to the spirit and tradition of Italian design from the 1960s, a design that was committed and took risks.
