What do you love most about your business, La Clef de Voûte?
Our desire to craft beautiful things, and to make them in a different way. We are always refining our techniques and seeking out new ideas. We try to pinpoint exactly what the client wants and deliver something durable, innovative and stylish.

What do you love about your job?
The trade is constantly evolving to keep in step with each new technology and material that hits the market. Our architects, designers and clients make it possible for us to create a wide range of unique pieces from all sorts of materials. Nothing is ever routine; the objects we craft are one-of-a-kind.

What is the most memorable project you worked on?
The Bic house was an amazing feat. The plans were drawn to our specifications and the whole thing took us three years; it was our biggest project by far. So many of our creations are scattered throughout the house—they’re in the kitchen, the bathrooms, the stairwell, the walk-in closet, the cellar. We even designed a heated exterior table. When it comes to a project like this, our task transcends woodworking. We’re rearranging space.

What do you most enjoy about working for La Clef de Voûte?
I love the projects we take on. Our aesthetic—with its modern lines, minimalist style and clean design—is one I’m naturally drawn to.

What do you love about your job?
Working with wood. It really is that simple. I love how it smells—the way it looks and feels. And we’re always learning on the job because tools, materials and techniques are constantly changing. Each innovation brings its own set of technical challenges and things will keep evolving over the next 10 or 15 years—that’s the beauty of our trade.

What is the most memorable project you worked on?
A Westmount home was quite an adventure. We worked on the interior and exterior of the house using a variety of materials—from cedar planks to a new material imported from Europe (a combination of plastic and cement). Harmonizing the inside and outside of a home was an exciting challenge.

What do you most enjoy about working for La Clef de Voûte?
We’re a small team and very tight-knit. That feeling of connection in the workplace isn’t something you’ll find in a large, impersonal factory.

What do you love about your job?
I’m especially drawn to the human side of the trade. We put a lot of work into each stage of the production process and I take pride in delivering a quality final product to a satisfied customer. It’s very rewarding; I see it as part of my paycheque.

What is the most memorable project you’ve worked on?
Every project is memorable. I can think of one project that was especially interesting, but what set it apart wasn’t the production aspect—it was the human side of the equation that made it special. The client was a pleasure to work with. He treated us like guests in his home, not hired hands. We must have redone the entire house—we did the bathroom, the bedroom, the bed—it took us six months. We used a new kind of hardware to build electric drawers for the kitchen. We had never done that before. We repeated the same design concepts from room to room to create a uniform look.

What do you most enjoy about working for La Clef de Voûte?
The beautiful pieces we create. I love watching ideas turn into real-life objects. In my job, I get to work on every single item we make. I inspect each piece before delivery to make sure it’s absolutely perfect.

What do you love about your job?
I like putting in an honest day’s work, especially when it comes to the bigger, more challenging projects. In this trade, the deadline is usually our biggest obstacle. Designing a project and selecting materials can be time-consuming, so when it’s finally time to work on the piece, we sometimes have to pick up the pace to meet the deadline, which I always find really motivating.

What is the most memorable project you worked on?
It was a major contract for a client in Bromont. We redid the home’s interior from top to bottom. The clean, uncluttered design demanded a high level of precision—everything had to be perfect. I remember that the staircase was so big we had to construct it horizontally in the workshop.

What do you most enjoy about working for La Clef de Voûte?
I like the friendly atmosphere of smaller businesses. We get to do different things and watch the creative process unfold from start to finish.

What do you love about your job?
I enjoy manual work—I love handling raw materials, working with wood. I also appreciate the ingenuity required to design a piece. The plans the architects draw up can be pretty daring; it’s our job to find the creative solutions that will get us there.

What is the most memorable project you worked on?
A kitchen island. I worked on that project from start to finish – from the first drawing to the big reveal. The client wanted a metal finish, so we worked with MDF and metal. Believe it or not, we ended up using a finishing technique they use on car bodies. The client was very pleased with his new unit—it was a total success.

What do you most enjoy about working for La Clef de Voûte?
When I worked for myself I was always running up against minor technical difficulties. Here, I feel like we have the means to be ambitious. We can set our sights on bigger projects and make them happen. It’s really motivating to feel like we can accomplish whatever we set out to do.

What do you love about your job?
I love building some new thing we’ve come up with – or something one of our clients has dreamed up. There’s nothing like sketching out an idea and going on to build it. In some ways, our furniture and fittings change people’s lives.

What is the most memorable project you worked on?
A built-in bookcases. We turned an entire wall into an impressive shelving unit to hold her television and sound system—and to showcase her enormous book collection. The client had saved up for the custom-built masterpiece of her dreams, which I think is an admirable way to go about buying something.

What do you most enjoy about working for La Clef de Voûte?
We’re like family. We share everything—our ups and downs. We’re encouraged to interact on a personal level, which makes it possible to really connect.

What do you love about your job?
Woodworking is a field that’s constantly evolving, and we face our fair share of hitches and snags. But this is what makes it such an interesting trade. We’re always poking around for something new, testing out innovative solutions. It keeps us on our toes—always ready for the next project. The pieces we build are custom-made, so our work is never boring. A client’s wish list is a point of departure for thrilling discoveries.

What is the most memorable project you worked on?
For my first assignment, I had to design and construct a store’s front door. The deadline was tight and we had to race against the clock to get it done. The metal we were using had an unusual finish that glue wouldn’t stick to, so we tested several solutions until we found something that would work—an adhesive used to bond airplane parts. When it came time to glue our pieces together, we were like tightrope walkers without a net—there was no room for error, we had to get it right the first time.