Until the mid-19th century, the county of Les Landes was a huge marshy plain which the inhabitants, mostly shepherds, crossed on stilts. In 1857, the Land Reclamation act, instigated by Napoleon III, led to the mass planting of pine trees in order to drain the land and stop it from eroding. Nowadays, these trees cover more than a million hectares and are used for both their resin and wood. However, other varieties are also found alongside the pine, including several species of oak. Today, the Landes forest is Europe’s largest cultivated area of trees.

The river Adour flows from the Aquitaine basin, dividing the county of Les Landes into two regions. In the south lies a rich agricultural zone and the green valleys of Chalosse, where cattle and ducks are raised, together with maize. In the north, there are thousands of hectares of forest, mainly pines.

The decade from 1950 to 1960 marked the arrival of comfort in homes. The chair industry employed no fewer than 3,000 people in the 1990s alone. This was when, after two generations, the Bastiat family engaged in the manufacture of chairs and furniture.

The banks of the Adour are bordered by oaks, and the wood is used for furniture and wine casks. A chair factory was created in Hagetmau in 1893. It was the first in a long line… The workshops gradually became businesses. The 1930s were good times for them. The factories modernised their equipment and acquired a know-how that was the envy of everyone.

The business was founded on 1st April 1964 by Marcelle and Joseph Bastiat. They had met each other and learnt their trade in the Capdevielle factory. One was in the carpentry workshop, and the other in finishing. Their children, Alain and Michel grew up surrounded by wood shavings, the smell of wood, tools, textiles and varnish.