This week Achica re-launched their retro industrial edit but have gone the extra mile adding some interesting illuminated wall signs in their collection.

Industrial chic has had a fantastic come back and is no longer limited to cool warehouse lofts with endless ceilings and exposed walls. Industrial decor mixes well with some antique furniture as well as with mid-century accents.

A bit of a history lesson here. Thinking of industrial style furniture? Then you will definitely recognise the Tolix chair.

The Model A chair shown below has become an icon of industrial esthetics. It’s unfailing popularity since 1934 has enabled it to enter the Collections of the Vitra Design Museum, MOMA and the Pompidou Center.

This mythical chair, crafted of sheet metal, has been assured by «it’s fool-proof solidity, it’s unequalled lightness, it’s easy maintenance» advantages of which can be included «inexpensive». All merit goes to Xavier Pauchard (1880-1948) who was a pioneer of galvanisation in France.

Shortly after World War 1, based in Autun, Burgundy, he found himself (a visionary and inventive entrepreneur) in charge of a flourishing manufacture of galvanised sheet-metal domesic items, which at the time, embodied household comfort. It was in 1927 that he registered the trademark TOLIX, at the same time converting to the «production of chairs, armchairs, stools and metal furnitures».

The different models (rustproof, robust and stackable) conceived by Xavier Pauchard found their place directly inside factories, offices and hospitals, as well as outside, on cafe terraces and in public parks.

Embarked aboard the ship, Normandie, in 1935, these chairs also filled the aisles of the 1937 Exposition Internationale –Arts et Techniques. Furniture for children was created in 1935 under the mark of « La Mouette ».

At the end of the 50’s, with the succession of his son, Jean, Tolix and it’s 80 workers produced about 60 000 units annually. This prosperous company remained in the same family until 2004. Read more here.

Some industrial style inspiration. This eclectic style is all about mix and match!

Jenny Kakoudakis likes to blog about interiors. She launched award-winning Seasons in Colour in 2014 and the luxury interior design blog All The Pretty Homes in 2024. When she is not chasing criminals out of the financial system (her day job), she gets creative by redecorating her own home.