“If we don’t find something we like, we make it—a couch, a watch, linens, agendas,” explains Arthur Gerbi, who took the helm at Merci in 2013, launching an online shop along with the brand’s line of homewares and accessories. “Normally, if you make a couch, you try to do the whole collection—a chair, an ottoman, etc. We don’t. We think a couch is essential but the rest can be found elsewhere.” This measured approach to only creating what is necessary makes for a unique offering that is always evolving. (“We’re not a fixed idea!” says Gerbi, when the term concept shop pops up.)
Through the eyes of artistic director Daniel Rozensztroch, who has been with the company since the beginning, the development of a Merci product becomes an anthropological investigation.…
