The River Table In The World: the Little Story Of Its Origin And Its Creation By Its Creator Alexandre Chapelin

THE RESOLUTIONS OF JANUARY 1, 2014

The day after New Years Eve 2014, trapped by this uncontrollable reflex of good resolutions of January 1st, I began to think about my desire to give more life and meaning to my artistic activities. I then think back to my acquired skills, whether thanks to my BEP training in resin, CAP cook, school of graphic design and decoration or thanks to my various professional and artistic experiences.

THE BOREDOM OF A DINNER

One evening in the same month of January 2014, I found myself at a dull and lackluster evening, and in front of me, a table just as dull.When I get home, I open a nice bottle of Woodford bourbon, and start to think back to that horrible night and that horrible table …

THE ASSOCIATIONWith a good headache, I went the next day to my friend Patrick Lapierre, marble worker, met during an artistic exhibition in December 2013. I offered him an association to create the concept LA TABLE, an “encapsulated table” ”In transparent resin. At this point in the adventure, I have no certainty of the feasibility of what I have in mind. I only have an old memory of a beetle and flowers in small resin cubes that I saw among the principals of the many schools who had the privilege – or not – of welcoming me in their office while I was going seek my punishments and disciplinary advice results. I thus suggest to Patrick to pour resin on wood, marble or even old boat engines … And make tables out of them. Patrick, enthusiastic, becomes my partner today.

AND TECHNICALLY? …

The following days, I start looking for resin suppliers … out of the 20 suppliers contacted, all replied that no resin currently on the market could allow my project to be carried out, that no resin could hold a such a thickness, such a surface with the perfect transparency that my project demanded.…

To be treated as crazy increases my motivation tenfold, so I continue my research … until one day a company in Saint-Etienne sends me an email telling me that they want to embark on the adventure with me.

BETWEEN CHESS AND PERSEVERANCE

We are and March 2014, the Saint-Etienne company sends me 600 liters of totally transparent resin, so that I can start doing 2 or 3 tests ….

After 3 months of trials and failures, it is clear that the transparent epoxy, polyester, Gts resins … on the market are not made for my project …

Following an appointment with the manufacturer, I decided in an umpteenth attempt to propose the creation of a polyester resin with the percentage of catalyst modified and an epoxy resin with the percentage of hardener also modified.

The tests are finally conclusive! Another small technical effort, that of obtaining blue resin … and in September 2014, I managed to encapsulate an old boat engine found on the beach of Saint-Martin in 20 cm thick resin. It only remains to prolong the tests further in order to develop a blue resin …

AND THE FIRST RIVER TABLE WAS …

In October 2014, I can finally start sculpting marble and create blue rivers, beaches, natural blocks and thus give the illusion of a levitating block of water.

In December 2014, the first “RIVER TABLE” was born. Hundreds of articles are published all over the world to talk about LAGOON tables at the origin of tables known today as “river tables”.

THE TABLE, A COPY CONCEPT BUT ALWAYS NOT EQUAL

Despite a prolific market that has taken hold of the concept of LA TABLE in recent years, today we remain the only ones able to display a resin with a thickness of 40 cm (unable in any case to accept a creation less of 9 cm), of such transparency and such depth of color.

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