DOD Objects invites us to rethink deconstruction in favor of reuse

Using a few woodworking scraps, Florent Blanchard made his first modular lighting fixture in 2015. The project slowly gained interest, but just three years later, this designer and architectural project manager took up environmental design for furniture, founding DOD Objets. “We work with wood in recycling, that is, we give it added value, unlike recycling, which degrades the material,” explains the entrepreneur.

For example, a door can become a desk, an old parquet floor, or a small series of chairs. Today, Florent Blanchard and his team of 12 people, consisting mainly of architects, carpenters and designers, work exclusively for professional clients, such as city halls, train stations, architectural firms or, more recently, the Chamber of Commerce. Crafts and crafts. “The vast majority of projects are general: for example, we are currently working with Bouygues Construction for a secondary school, where we will convert old windows into showcases,” continues Florent Blanchard.

For a year, we have worked a lot to build partnerships, especially in the dismantling sector.

Florent Blanchard, creator of the mod objects

However, sometimes, individuals can purchase DOD Objets furniture, such as a desk or light fixture, produced in very small series. The year 2022 marked a turning point for this start-up, as it left the manufacturing company that gave it birth in Montreuil, moving to a new 500 square meter headquarters in Ivry-sur-Seine. The startup also chose to invest 300 thousand euros in a fleet of machines: half of this amount was loaned by the cooperative network France Active, which also acted as guarantor for the other half.

Relying on local stakeholders

Although some DOD Objets clients already have the raw materials, such as Gare du Nord that wants to reinvent its old parquet flooring as a reception desk, others simply order the finished product. It is therefore up to the young growth to find the wood deposits it will need to ensure order. “We cannot simply place an order with a supplier,” explains Florent Blanchard. We have been working hard for a year to build partnerships, especially in the dismantling sector that provides us with this raw material. »

Construction companies, communities, architecture companies… Today, startups can ask their network to restore flooring, cladding or solid doors that were destined to be discarded. However, it must remain flexible and responsive, because its storage space is limited: it is therefore impossible to accept several tons of wood if it is not directly reused. This raw material is sometimes donated, or sometimes purchased at a nominal price, so that disassembly can be carried out as accurately as possible.

Today, DOD Objets is gradually interested in other materials such as laminate or carpet. In addition, the startup, which still follows a reuse approach, is working on a sawdust recovery project.