If you haven’t heard of Orée, the above image sums them up quite nicely. An entirely Made in France hardware startup, they describe themselves as being at the intersection of Tech, Design, and …. Wood. Their all-wood keyboard (made from one solid piece of Maple or Walnut wood) comes with a leather pouch, and has been selling like crazy since its launch in July of 2012.
I spoke with founder Julien Salanave at Futur En Seine earlier this year, and he hinted that they were getting ready to expand their product offerings beyond keyboards. While it’s not sure they’ll be exploring all-wood iPhone cases and other accessories, or if they’ll continue down the “wood + electronics” side and do an all-wood computer mouse or music system, the prospect is exciting.
France’s talent for hardware (it’s one of the last western countries that still boasts its ability to produce inside its borders during a time of increased outsourcing of hardware manufacturing), as well as their eye for design (pick a luxury brand. It’s French, or owned by a French company) puts it in a great position to capitalize of the tech luxury trends. We’ve already seen luxury headphones from Aedle & Parrot, as well as great connected devices from Withings & Netatmo, and there’s no doubt that France is presenting itself as a force to be reckoned with in the connected hardware space.
The real question is: What would you like to see in wood? A laptop? A tablet? headphones?