BOQA Story
From idea to import Acapulco chair:
When Julien emigrates twelve years ago to Mexico, he does not know that more than a decade later, this trip will always mark his life on a daily basis. He then discovers the country like many of his compatriots: tacos, quesadillas, beaches and all the beauties of this country.
Sensitized to the design by her mother, the craft particularly draws her attention. The colorful ceramics of Metepec, the Equipals that found on the lively terraces of Socalo, the Catherinas de Guanjuato and the Acapulco chair that we see here and there in patios and gardens.
It comes to him the idea to import this chair that he did not have the chance to see in Europe.
He looked for the history of the Acapulco chair. Having no designer or original manufacturer, the design of this product is open. There are therefore no constraints around its marketing. The manufacturers are numerous and each have their standard and level of quality, which complicates the choice of a partner.
Julien defines his own quality standard, raises the necessary funds and organizes the first production. The 17 of February of the year 2011 the first container leaves the port of Veracruz towards Bordeaux. This is the first import of Acapulco chair: Boqa is launched!
A few months later and after a great commercial success it is a new step that promises for Boqa, the French Manufacturing. The import of armchairs is complicated, limits the colors proposed and constrains the development. Boqa transforms from importer to Acapulco Chair manufacturer.
The creation of an Acapulo chair manufacturing workshop:
Julien then finds a French partner for the manufacture of plastic rod. He develops and manufactures with him the material corresponding to a precise specification. Comfort, mechanical strength, flexibility, weather resistance are all criteria that must meet the 80 meters of plastic rope used to make a chair.
A first welding template is produced in collaboration with a locksmith to comply with the standards that Julien had defined for the Acapulco Boqa chair. The first structures go to the painter specializing in powder coating that will provide a high quality finish in both the appearance of the paint as the holding in time.
Boqa then invests a modest workshop, and Julien creates a braiding workshop that becomes the added value of Boqa unique in Europe. A first template designed to weave the Acapulco chairs is made, the first explanatory sheets to know how to do are written and the tools are minutiously selected for the manufacturing to be robust.
After this first season to manufacture Acapulco chairs, Boqa begins the development of new products, complementary as the Acapulco sofa, but also lamps designed by Emilie Gunning. Boqa really becomes a manufacturer of furniture with various pieces and broadens its know-how.
From Acapulco Chair Manufacturer to Furniture Manufacturer:
Boqa equips a first Hotel, the Best Western of Meudon la Foret, then a first restaurant at Le Mans with a terrace and a lounge area completely covered with BOQA chair and armchair. Then come prestigious places, the Hotel des bains d'arguin; the Annecy Palace or the Teutou restaurant during the Vanity Fair celebrations during the Cannes Film Festival.
All these places of high demands of quality, resistance, design confirms the appeal of Boqa furniture. They are most of the time accompanied by renowned interior design agencies such as the MOHA Agency, India Madhavi.
The enthusiasm of the professionals for the Boqa furniture forces to enlarge the workshop, in order to be able to realize important orders in parallel and without disturbing the production intended for the particular customer. the small workshop of 70 square meters quintuple in size and becomes a multidisciplinary.
Boqa's locksmith demand exceeds the capabilities of the partner. The integration of this knowledge becomes key in the development of Boqa. This makes it possible to continue to develop the models in a faster way and above all to ensure the necessary production flexibility to be commercially reactive.
Over time other materials and therefore new know-how will be integrated. Wood, glass, leather, linen, it is as reichesse that Boqa teams enjoy working to discover and come to offer customers a catalog that meets specific expectations.
From Furniture manufacturer to Design House:
It is in partnership with the VIA "French association for the valorization of the innovation in the furniture" and a one year work on its artistic identity that Boqa defines this editorial line, with a real commitment: "The development in a holistic approach. The creations of Boqa over the years assemble with a coherence, and follow a thread that had to materialize.
What is the specificity of Boqa: House of Design and Manufacturer, Boqa wishes to make furniture "beautiful, resistant and comfortable" in a holistic spirit. Keeping a foot in manufacturing, in distribution, in design without taking the place of the different actors is the challenge of Boqa.
This allows to stay connected and enrich the debate and issues. To discuss ergonomics with the designer, to understand the problems of manufacturing and also the difficulties of distribution.
Boqa Design House selects and works with designers from varied backgrounds through meetings and thanks to the open-mindedness of its management team, this publishing house remains available and welcoming.
