An inspirational craftsman in touch with nature at his Clonmel home

“He who works with his hands is a labourer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”
St Francis of Assisi.

Philippe Hetier is an artist and a creative. Born on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1978, he entered life on a birth date that is a mystical number.
This date is said to offer insight, higher energy, inspiration and creativity. Philippe smiles when I mention this and says, “Well, it is a bank holiday in France, Armistice Day.”
It is clear immediately that Philippe is a person who is dedicated to, and fully focused on, whatever he is engaged in.

His workshop, in the grounds of his beautiful home near Clonmel, is wonderfully laid out: warm, spacious and bright.
Underfloor heating ensures an even temperature for the wood he and his team craft into magnificent pieces of furniture – pieces that are guaranteed to last a lifetime and beyond.

WORKSHOP
The workshop has no heating costs as all of the waste is recycled. The wood chippings and waste timber are vacuumed up and shredded. The shredded waste goes into a briquetting machine. The briquettes are then burned in a gasification boiler which runs the heating system.

Sitting in his office on the second floor, there are generous views out onto verdant fields and trees. Philippe has always been influenced by nature, and his love of wood was with him from the beginning.
“If you are in an industrial estate with four walls of concrete and a steel roof, it destroys your creativity,” he says.

NATURE
The middle child of three, Philippe was born in Arbois, Jura, in France where he had a playground in nature. Here, the Cuisance river runs through the mountains and forms a natural amphitheatre with a beautiful landscape and forest.
“It is the native village of Louis Pasteur who developed vaccines against anthrax and rabies, and the process of pasteurisation,” said Philippe.

His father, Dominique, was an English school teacher, his mother Marie Jeanne an Arts & Crafts teacher. She is a gifted dressmaker and trained alongside fellow student Yves St Laurent before he became famous.
Philippe’s parents have enjoyed a long and happy marriage and continue to live in the family home. Marie Jeanne has had Parkinson’s disease for 26 years but manages it well.
Sadly, Dominique now suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. He may not remember certain conversations but the warmth, love, and feeling of the connection remains.
Philippe’s love of his family is obvious. His father was always very solid, knowledgeable.

FAMILY
“He was someone I would always call if I needed advice on anything. He always gave me an honest opinion and I miss that because this interaction is not possible anymore,” he said.

Philippe began working after school as a Bénévole with autistic people, managing a 15-acre park.
Following that, he worked in Decathlon repairing bicycles and tennis rackets, but this became repetitive, and he yearned for more meaningful work.

COMPAGNONS DU DEVOIR
In his twenties, Philippe decided to join Les Compagnons du Devoir, a guild of artisans and craftsmen who originally built cathedrals which could take between 60 and 200 years to complete.
“I had to train and find something a bit better, and I have always loved working manually,” says Philippe.

Les Compagnons du Devoir is over 1,000 years old and was established for skilled craftsmen to travel and train with the masters, developing their character and experience.
To become a Compagnon takes 10 years of training that involves creating a masterpiece and committing to several years of teaching.

In fact, teaching continues to be part of Phillippe’s dedication as he now welcomes guild students for stays ranging from six weeks up to a year.

A Compagnon lives and works with certain values. They are a fraternity who believe in fidelity, courage, discipline, patience and generosity.
Philippe lives by these principals, admitting that developing patience was not easy, but becoming a father certainly gave him the opportunity to practice.
He says this with a twinkle in his eye.

During his training, Phillippe came to Bennettsbridge for a year and a half, working and learning techniques such as wood turning with Keith Mosse, brother of renowned potter Nicholas Mosse.
He loved the rural setting. Later, after completing his Compagnon training in France, Philippe returned to Ireland where he met his now wife Gillian whilst surfing in Kerry with a group of friends.
RIGHT PERSON
“I came back to Ireland in 2006, got an old 306 Peugeot, a surfboard, a bicycle, a backpack; so, nothing! Then three months later, I met Gillian and I never left…I kind of knew I had found the right person to make my life.”

The couple are now settled near Clonmel with their three children who are all bilingual and love sports and outdoor activities. Ryan (11) learns quickly and is fearless when it comes to sport; Alannah (9) has a perfect French accent and is naturally artistic and musical; and Emilie Rose (6) speaks French as needed. They are a very happy family. “The love you have for your children really goes above anything,” says Philippe.
Philippe also values the wonderful, natural products here in terms of fish, meat, vegetables and fruit.

NATURE
Spending time in nature is important to all of them and they have a camper van in which they take regular holidays across Europe, exploring and visiting the grandparents.
When Keith Mosse retired in 2008, Philippe bought the business and its goodwill. Now, he trades as Philippe Hetier Bespoke Furniture. He works closely with Shane Walsh who initially came to him on a work placement 8 years ago. Philippe saw great potential in Shane, and they have been working together since.
Philippe undertakes a 70-hour week starting each day at 7am, sometimes earlier. The business is open all year round, except for Christmas. Running costs are high: there is no waste. Everything is reused or recycled. Philippe sources all his wood from France as the forests there are exploited sustainably, and he knows the quality is high and can be fully traced. The imports include lime, maple, oak, ash and walnut.

ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE
He mentions a book from the 16th century he once saw in a museum in Milan clearly demonstrating how to take wood from a forest and ensure the forest’s survival. The ancient knowledge is there, but unfortunately not always followed or valued. “You need to cut trees, you need to use the trees, but there is a way of doing it,” says Philippe.

Philippe is not driven by money and will not make anything less than a magnificent piece that will withstand the test of time and be valued for all that it is. He describes himself as ‘blunt’, often refusing to take commissions if the enquirer does not value his offering. “Some people don’t realise, but I always tell them, you are actually buying a part of my life. You are buying my time. Why would I sell my time, a part of my life, to be put in the bin? Why?”
Philippe has also found a solution for surfers who don’t want to use surfboards created from petrol-based products.

SURFING AND NATURE
Most who surf love nature and the ocean. They are aware that if a board breaks in strong waves, half of it is lost and becomes a pollutant in the sea. When Philippe set himself the task of creating a wooden solution, he found this was not light enough and performance was reduced. Inspired by nature, he emptied out the whole core of the board creating a honeycomb shape all over.

He then vacuumed a 6cm / 7cm veneer of balsa wood on top to strengthen it. It was the perfect solution, and the new board performance is wonderful. Philippe has named it the ‘Tonn Surfboard’, tonn being the Irish for wave.

SHARING
Philippe generously shares his knowledge with other craftsmen. He knows that this sharing benefits all and is confident in his experience. He has a great friend and colleague, John Walsh, who runs a very successful studio in Kinsale, Co. Cork. Philippe has found their support of each other and exchange of ideas beneficial.

“Everything is related to what was done in the past. You can’t forget hundreds of years of knowledge suddenly, but you need to be able to adapt to today’s world,” he said.
Philippe Hetier is an inspiration. He brings many gifts to Tipperary. His creations are for those who really value beauty, quality and craftsmanship. He never disappoints.