Rural Reconnaissance: Handmade Fixtures and Fittings from Inventaire Mobilier

Founded by Parisian sisters Sophie Pinet and Marion Pinet, along with Marion’s partner Pierre Pollet (they all have backgrounds in design), Inventaire Mobilier produces “everyday objects inspired by old, anonymous buildings: farmhouses, barns, churches, and village homes. These objects reference simple shapes and humble techniques that modernity often overlooks.

“In regions like Rouergue, the northern of Cotentin, Quercy, and Lauragais, we work with blacksmiths, ironworkers, metalworkers, founders, chiselers, carpenters, woodturners, and woodworkers to build a catalog of robust, timeless pieces.”

The idea for Inventaire began percolating in 2016, when Pierre and Marion, the founders of Pollet Pinet Architectes studio, moved to Larnagol and restored an old village farmhouse. Their work led them to explore rural architecture across several natural regions, from the alpine farms of the Bornes massif to the granite homes of Cotentin. Marion’s sister Sophie, a former editor at AD France, joined them in their mission to offer meaningful, rewarding work for artisans as a tribute to traditional craftsmanship.

Here’s a look at their offerings:

Photography by Jamie Hawkesworth

Candlesticks

Above: A grouping of Inventaire candle holders. “Handmade in the Lauragais region of France, each candleholder is forged and hammered for several hours on the blacksmith’s anvil, shaped one by one. The forms are based on the ancient rushlight, the rural ancestor of the candlestick.”

Above: Prices for the Inventaire Candlesticks range from $506 to $722. Above: “Along the Atlantic coast, from France to Ireland via southern England, and further east in the Alps, countrymen lit their homes with rushlights, which featured a clamp that held a splinter of wood. While beeswax candles were reserved for special occasions, the resinous splinter quietly lit the hearth of country homes.”

Door Hardware

Above: Inventaire door handles are handcrafted in the Calvados region of France. Each handle is unique, hammered on the anvil of the blacksmith who shapes them, one by one, with his hammer, or turned by hand in one of the last remaining workshops in Normandy. Door Handle 03 (shown above) is inspired by a model found in the Cotentin region on a Mariners’ chapel dating back to the 11th century, Above: Inventaire Escutcheons are handcrafted in Calvados, France. Each one is unique—forged and hammered by hand on the blacksmith’s anvil, one at a time. Prices range from $37 to $73. Above: The Door Handle 01 is sold in pairs; $560.

Cabinet Pulls

Above: The Handle 04 is made in Occitanie, France, and is $235. Above: The small Walnut Cabinet Pull is $44.

Wooden Objets

Above: “Wooden Shapes were used to teach solid geometry and mathematics in schools from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. Three turned shapes—a sphere, a truncated cylinder, and a cone—crafted from three types of wood: pear, walnut, and corm tree, each with its own story to tell.” Above: A trio of wooden forms in situ. Above: Inventaire boards are handmade in the Quercy region of France. Each board is unique, made by hand, and comes from a sustainable wood supply chain committed to environmental protection.. Above: An artful arrangement of cutting boards.