Trade & Hospitality — LAPIERRE MARKET

For interior architects, hospitality and production

An authenticated designer piece, delivered across France, Europe, the UK and the US. For interior architecture projects, boutique hotels, signature restaurants and editorial or film productions. LAPIERRE MARKET operates from a Paris workshop-showroom dedicated to vintage designer furniture, sourced through private channels from first owners, estates and identified European dealers. Every piece goes through an authentication procedure, a documented restoration step and a full photographic file before entering the catalogue.

We work with interior architecture practices, hospitality groups, restaurants in repositioning, brands opening pop-ups, and image and film productions. The offer is neither a reissue showroom nor a consumer marketplace: it is piece-by-piece sourcing, against a written brief, delivered with the administrative documents expected in a client file. This page sets out the working terms, project process, related services and trade billing conditions.

Why authentic vintage for trade projects

Authentic vintage furniture answers three project needs that contemporary reissues do not cover. The first is project differentiation. A first-edition Pierre Paulin armchair, a Pierre Jeanneret PJ-SI-01-A returned from Chandigarh, a Joe Colombo light from the early seventies: these pieces are no longer available as reissues, or only in reworked versions that alter their silhouette and patina. For an architect signing a venue, the original remains a strong argument because it is rare and cannot be specified twice on the same street.

The second need is history and provenance. A rooftop bar, a Left Bank boutique hotel, a signature restaurant in the Marais: these venues are built on narrative as much as on cuisine or architecture. A documented vintage piece, with known year, edition and sometimes first owner, opens an editorial angle the press and guidebooks engage with readily. Provenance is communicated on the floor, in press kits, on opening pages, and feeds the venue's long-term reputation.

The third need is long-term investment. The secondary market for vintage designer furniture has appreciated steadily over the last fifteen years, at varying rates depending on typology and era. A piece booked as a fixed asset has a different depreciation profile from a new catalogue purchase. For a hospitality group or a real estate company, this changes the accounting equation. We can issue, on request, a record of known auction prices at the date of acquisition.

There is also patina: the visual authenticity of fifty-year-old leather, aged solid wood, or lightly pitted chrome cannot be reproduced. It is an immediate signal for the informed visitor and a material comfort for everyone else.

Trade services

Brief-based sourcing. You send us a written brief, or we run it in a video call: typologies, preferred eras, designers, material range, palette, budget per line, project timing. Within seven to fourteen days, we return a private catalogue assembled for you, mixing pieces in stock and pieces sourced on demand from our European partners. The catalogue is access-protected, kept up to date through arbitrations, and maintained for the duration of the project.

On-site visits. For Paris and Île-de-France projects, we travel to the practice or to the site with a curated selection, material samples and provenance files. For projects outside the region, we offer a private showroom appointment in Paris on a reserved slot, outside public opening hours.

USM Haller configuration. We study your floor plans, dimension a custom configuration (reception desk, library, sideboard, cloakroom), produce a detailed module-by-module quote, and deliver the assembled set. USM configurations work particularly well with public-establishment regulations and the durability requirements of hospitality and tertiary projects.

Rental for shoots and events. A rotating pool of pieces is available for short-term rental to image productions, fashion shows, pop-up openings and brand events. Conditions and inventory are described on our USM Haller rental for Paris shoots page.

Adapted restoration. Reupholstery in leather or fabric to a written material brief, full recover, restoration of wooden and metal frames, preventive maintenance for pieces already in service in your venue. Partner workshops are based in Paris and the Île-de-France.

Delivery to France, Europe, UK and US. Insured transport at declared value, wooden crating for sensitive pieces, two-handler delivery, on-site assembly. For exports outside the EU, we manage the EORI registration, compliant invoicing, CN codes, intra-EU VAT and post-Brexit customs formalities. The full procedure is set out in our guide on shipping vintage furniture abroad post-Brexit.

Trade billing. Multi-line quotes, payment terms at thirty or sixty days against an approved file, transfer-of-title attestations, signed certificates of authenticity, full provenance photo file. Intra-EU VAT is handled for clients with a valid VAT number. Operational details are on the services and shipping pages.

Project process

Step 1 — Brief and scoping. Initial meeting, video or in person, usually forty-five minutes to ninety minutes. We listen to the project (venue type, surface area, mood, regulatory constraints, timing), then return a written brief for your sign-off. This scoping step conditions the quality of the sourcing.

Step 2 — Moodboard and selection. Within seven to fourteen days, we send a moodboard and a selection of five to ten pieces per line, with high-resolution photographs, dimensions, condition notes, documented provenance and price ranges. The selection is revised until arbitrations are signed off.

Step 3 — Quote and delivery schedule. Once pieces are validated, we issue a detailed quote covering transport, insurance, assembly and any restoration. The delivery schedule aligns with the construction calendar and accounts for restoration lead times.

Step 4 — Authentication and light restoration. Before delivery, each piece goes through a final check: edition markings, manufacturer labels, serial numbers, material and era consistency. The light restorations agreed in the quote are carried out at this stage.

Step 5 — Delivery and assembly. Delivery on the agreed date, by a two-person team, with on-site assembly and removal of packaging. A digital file is handed over: invoices, certificates of authenticity, provenance photographs, transfer-of-title attestations.

Use cases

Left Bank boutique hotel in Paris. Lower-ground bar lounge refit: twelve authenticated Pierre Paulin armchairs sourced over three months, full leather recover in a custom-dyed tone, delivered in two waves to fit the opening calendar. Full provenance file handed to the operations director for press communication.

Two-hundred-fifty square metre signature restaurant. Reception desk and dining-room sideboards in black USM Haller, travertine tops on selected modules. Floor-plan study, configuration quote, manufacture, single-day delivery and assembly. Lounge spaces complemented by Italian seventies vintage pieces.

Architecture practice on a private project. Three-month sourcing focused on Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret, with alternative pieces presented for budget arbitrations. Private catalogue maintained throughout the project, staggered delivery over two quarters in line with construction.

Film production. Eight-day rental for a fashion shoot in a Haussmann apartment: USM Haller modules, two Paulin armchairs, Castiglioni lights and period accessories. D-1 delivery, D+1 pickup, production insurance.

Trade FAQ

Do you accept thirty or sixty day payment terms? Yes, against an approved file. We ask for a company registration extract, accounts-payable contact details and, depending on the order size, a deposit at order. Terms are set in the quote.

Can you provide certificates of authenticity for our client? Yes. Each piece is delivered with a signed certificate stating designer, edition, estimated production date, markings and provenance. For major pieces, we add bibliographic references (catalogues raisonnés, manufacturer archives) and a photo file of the markings.

What sourcing lead times should we plan for? Seven to fourteen days for a first catalogue return, one to three months for a full project depending on the rarity of the pieces. Highly targeted searches (Perriand, Jeanneret, Royère) require longer.

International delivery: what guarantees? Transport insured at declared value, wooden crating for sensitive pieces, single point of contact, customs formalities handled. Full procedure in our post-Brexit guide. Insurance applies to the declared value on the invoice in case of incident.

Can you handle intra-EU VAT and exports? Yes. EU clients with a valid VAT number benefit from intra-EU invoicing. For non-EU exports, we handle EORI, export invoicing and tariff codes. Pieces over one hundred years old fall under specific tax regimes documented on a case-by-case basis.

Start a project

Send us a short brief: name, practice or company, email, phone, project type, indicative budget, timing, brief description. We come back within forty-eight working hours with a first scoping meeting.