Tochu-De

Tochu-De is a French designer jewelry brand founded by Karelle Poudoulec and Loïc Poudoulec, a married couple of designer-makers. The name "Tochu-De" means "halfway" in Japanese, reflecting the brand's position halfway between digital design and craft, between Loïc's 3D modelling and Karelle's hand-painting, and between France and Japan. The brand operates from an atelier-showroom in Auneau-Bleury-Saint-Symphorien in Eure-et-Loir, housed in a renovated former saddlery (bourrellerie), with the founders describing their workshop setting in the countryside between Rambouillet and Chartres. The brand positions itself between contemporary design and craftsmanship. Each piece begins as a drawing and a 3D model and is completed by a manual gesture. Tochu-De explicitly states it is neither costume jewelry (bijouterie fantaisie) nor fine jewelry (joaillerie), but designer jewelry produced in small series and hand-finished in France. The founders describe their values as poetry, colour, eco-responsibility, transparency and local production, and the brand markets itself under the banner of "Slow Jewelry" and "Slow Fashion". Tochu-De's collections draw on Japanese design, origami and a contemporary, poetic aesthetic. Named collections include Origami (origami birds, parrots and geometric forms inspired by Japanese folding), Japon / Souffle d'Asie (jewelry inspired by Japanese aesthetics, including ginkgo leaves), and Design (contemporary pieces with pared-back forms). Individual products include the Oursin and Nénuphar earrings, both hand-painted by Karelle. The New Wave concept, designed by Loïc Poudoulec in 2022, produced the New Wave earrings, printed in PA11 by laser sintering as a single piece with no hand assembly, soldering or links; the Glassy and Choppy ranges derive from this concept. The New Wave concept received two international distinctions in 2023: a German Design Award 2023 Special Mention in the Excellent Product Design – Luxury Goods category (official reference GDA2023-21942, awarded by the Rat für Formgebung / German Design Council in Frankfurt and notified on 31 October 2022), and a BigSEE Fashion Design Award 2023 in the Step Forward category (Zavod Big, Ljubljana). These awards led to participation in the Inhorgenta Munich 2024 trade fair and to the opening of points of sale in Germany and Ireland. Tochu-De sells primarily through its own e-commerce site, tochu-de.fr, built on Shopify, with delivery promised within 24/48 hours and a 14-day returns window. The brand is a small, independent, privately held French business rather than part of a larger jewelry group, and its founders remain directly involved in design, production and finishing.

Tochu-De was founded by Karelle Poudoulec and Loïc Poudoulec, a married couple who share a passion for design, colour and contemporary craft. The brand name means "halfway" in Japanese, chosen to express its position between digital design and traditional craft, between Loïc's 3D modelling and Karelle's hand-painting, and between France and Japan. The founders' backgrounds shaped this hybrid approach: Karelle trained and worked as a buyer and product manager in a ready-to-wear purchasing centre before becoming a freelance stylist with a strong taste for colour and materials, while Loïc trained as an interior architect and later moved into design and digital modelling, discovering 3D printing in 2013 after a digital trade fair and reading the book "Makers". The couple set up their atelier in the French countryside, described as between Rambouillet and Chartres, and later established an atelier-showroom in Auneau-Bleury-Saint-Symphorien in Eure-et-Loir, in a renovated former saddlery. Their creative process is collaborative: they imagine forms and sketches together, Loïc models the jewelry in CAD software and runs the prints on his SLS (selective laser sintering) machine, nicknamed "Lisa", and Karelle paints and finishes each piece by hand, giving every item its unique colour. Karelle also tests the creations with her children before they are commercialised. A defining moment came with the New Wave concept, designed by Loïc Poudoulec in 2022. The New Wave earrings are printed in PA11 by laser sintering as a single piece, with no hand assembly, no soldering and no links. The concept earned two international distinctions in 2023: a German Design Award 2023 Special Mention in the Excellent Product Design – Luxury Goods category, awarded by the Rat für Formgebung (German Design Council, Frankfurt) with official reference GDA2023-21942 and notified on 31 October 2022; and a BigSEE Fashion Design Award 2023 in the Step Forward category, awarded by Zavod Big in Ljubljana. The Glassy and Choppy ranges were developed from the New Wave concept. These awards raised the brand's international profile and led to participation in the Inhorgenta Munich 2024 trade fair and to the opening of points of sale in Germany and Ireland. Tochu-De continues to sell mainly through its own Shopify-based e-commerce site, tochu-de.fr, offering delivery within 24/48 hours and a 14-day returns window, and it presents itself as a reference in French "Slow Jewelry". The brand remains an independent, founder-run French business producing small series and finishing each piece by hand in France.

• Loïc Poudoulec discovers 3D printing after a digital trade fair and reading the book "Makers"

• New Wave earrings designed by Loïc Poudoulec

• German Design Award 2023 Special Mention notified (reference GDA2023-21942)

• German Design Award 2023 Special Mention, Excellent Product Design – Luxury Goods

• BigSEE Fashion Design Award 2023, Step Forward category

• Participation in Inhorgenta Munich 2024 and opening of points of sale in Germany and Ireland

Designer jewelry halfway between contemporary design and craftsmanship; small-series, hand-finished in France; neither costume jewelry nor fine jewelry; marketed as Slow Jewelry / Slow Fashion.

• New Wave earrings

  Designed by Loïc Poudoulec in 2022; printed in PA11 by laser sintering as a single piece with no hand assembly, soldering or links; awarded a German Design Award 2023 Special Mention.

• Glassy range

  A product range derived from the New Wave concept.

• Choppy range

  A product range derived from the New Wave concept.

• Oursin earrings

  Colourful, lightweight earrings hand-painted by Karelle.

• Nénuphar earrings

  Art-deco-inspired earrings available in two sizes.

• Origami collection

  Origami birds, parrots and geometric forms inspired by Japanese paper folding.

• Japon / Souffle d'Asie collection

  Jewelry inspired by Japanese aesthetics, including ginkgo leaves.

• Design collection

  Contemporary jewelry with pared-back forms.

1. 1BIJOUX CREATEURS alliant Design Poétique & Artisanat | TOCHU-DE – Tochu-Detochu-de.fr
2. 2Qui se cache derrière Tochu-De ? | Bijoux impression 3D faits main Francetochu-de.fr
3. 3Boucles d'oreilles OURSIN — colorées et légères | Tochu-Detochu-de.fr
4. 4Boucles d'oreilles NÉNUPHAR art déco | 2 tailles | Tochu-Detochu-de.fr
5. 5Tochu-Dewikidata.org