“It’s always the same, you wander around, you look around, you create an atmosphere in your head, and then…. it goes like this!”
Let us take you to the Basque coast, to meet Jean-Charles, aka JC, sales manager for Deus Ex Machina France. He opens the doors of an old hardware store rehabilitated into a Deus café, in the heart of Biarritz. A place of raw charm, motorbikes and cars here and there… Enjoy your reading!
Hello JC, can you introduce yourself? What is your position at Deus?
Oh! Jean-Charles, 31 years old, I’m Sales Director for Deus Ex Machina in France. What does that mean? It means that I take care of 120 retailers throughout France, and I also manage the Biarritz shop for example, participate in the elaboration of events, I sometimes pack boxes, and clean the office too. I’ve been working with Benjamin, who is in charge of the general management, he is my partner for over 7 years now.
That’s a pretty concise description of what I do, but if I go into detail, I’ll have to explain that I ended up here by chance. But if you want to know: when I was 8 I wanted to be a farmer, when I was 12 I wanted to be a fireman and a farmer, and when I was 17 I wanted to work in clothes. So I worked in a clothing shop that sold DEUS, I was a student at the time and I ended up doing an end-of-master’s internship at Deus… With Benjamin.
Can you introduce the brand ?
I’ll try to be concise, it’s a clever mix between a clothing brand present all over the world, shops with addresses that make you dream: Los Angeles, Sydney, Tokyo, Canggu, Biarritz, Milan, Sao Paulo, surfing, restaurants, mechanics, cafés, offbeat events, a music label, art… A hub of many things that make Deus Ex Machina much more than just a clothing collections
Why did a brand like yours decide to open a café, especially in Biarritz?
Deus is 16 years old, and since the first day in Sydney a restaurant has been built at the same time as the shop. As for France, we opened in Biarritz because there is no more coherent city to respect the universe of our brand: everything is there.
So we rolled up our sleeves with Benjamin and some craftsmen, we took possession of this old hardware store at 55 Avenue de la Marne, and in June 2018 we opened the doors wide without telling many people.
The opening of this Deus Temple as we call them internally (shop + café/restaurant) allowed us to make the brand tangible in France, and gave a good boost to our national presence.
What were your main inspirations for the design of this place?
In this case it was Benjamin and his various travels that inspired him. It’s always the same, you wander around, you look, you create an atmosphere in your head and then…. it gives you this!
Why did you choose TIPTOE table legs for the shop?
I believe that his idea, 5 years ago, was to contrast the rough aspect of the place we are in (old hardware store) and the machines (cars and motorbikes) with the minimalist and uncluttered design of the TIPTOE stands. Also in 2022, you have to know that a lot of people come into shops like ours to spend a few hours on a computer, and this traffic requires solid tables: glad we chose TIPTOE!
And the advantage of all this is that the shop was created without too many plans, so with the TIPTOE legs we could modulate as we wanted.
Have you used our products for other projects at Deus?
Hold on tight, you are always with us: Biarritz, Meribel, our corner at Le Bon Marché, our corner at Grand Central in Toulon, and at more than one of our retailers with whom we have created corners. You are even at Ben’s and my place!
If we go to your place, what do we order?
If you’re at the Biarritz shop, an inevitable oatmeal latte I’d say, with freshly squeezed fruit juice right in front of you. If you’re at the Bordeaux shop, a Lobster Roll: an ice cream made in our laboratory, on the spot too!
And while all this is being served, you can take a look at the new collection: from the Deus Records universe (our music label, very street) to the new Women’s collection, via the Deus Classics range, and the brands we sell such as Paraboot, Blundstone, Barebones, Rototo, and books, there will be plenty to do.
Deus Ex Machina Biarritz – The Tenement Of Tenacity
55 Av. de la Marne, 64200 Biarritz
