The river Adour flows from the Aquitaine basin, dividing the county of Les Landes into two regions. In the south lies a rich agricultural zone and the green valleys of Chalosse, where cattle and ducks are raised, together with maize. In the north, there are thousands of hectares of forest, mainly pines. All along the Adour is bordered by oaks, and the wood is used for furniture and wine casks. A chair factory sprang up in Hagetmau in 1893. It was the first in a long line... The workshops gradually became businesses. The 1930s were good times for them. The factories modernised their equipment and acquired a know-how that was the envy of everyone. The decade from 1950 to 1960 marked the arrival of comfort in homes. The chair industry employed no fewer than 3000 people in the 1990s alone.
This was when, after two generations, the Bastiat family engaged in the manufacture of chairs and furniture. The business was founded on 1st April 1964 by Marcelle and Joseph Bastiat. They had met each other and learnt their trade in the Capdevielle factory. One was in the carpentry workshop, and the other in finishing. Their children, Alain and Michel grew up surrounded by wood shavings, the smell of wood, tools, textiles and varnish. Recently Alain, who manages the business with his wife, Geneviève, wanted to create a new brand. This carries the symbolic name of BOSC and is based on the experience and know-how in cabinet-making and upholstery for household chairs. The launch was also an occasion to work with a nearby industry specialising in treating and transforming duck down. Created by the designers, Jean Louis Iratzoki and Samuel Accocceberry, five collections of sofas and armchairs are manufactured by the expert hands of the workers at Bastiat.
