Nicolas Gabriel, 36, is from Guadeloupe and has been drawing lines and imagining shapes since he was a child. Although he trained as an engineer and has a master's degree in management, he has never lost his artistic streak. "I was tired of mundane, indifferent furniture, of the impersonal in which we lose ourselves," he says. "I wanted depth, furniture that speaks, that evokes raw but intimate emotions." In this quest, he found a complementary partner in Mickael Marie, who had already embarked on a similar entrepreneurial adventure. Mickael, also a 36-year-old Guadeloupean, has a degree in economics and cut his teeth in international finance. This is how Caban' was born, immediately incorporating a solid business model and a long-term vision. This adventure is rooted in time, at the crossroads of childhood memories, a pronounced taste for living materials, and the desire to give spaces a rare resonance, a kind of silent reminiscence.
Alongside them, artistic director Shahine Héry sculpts the contours of visual communication, but not only that, with a unique approach tinged with a wandering and poetic soul. She, the sensitive artist, reveals herself in objects that capture something invisible, a palpable presence in the silence of forms. "We seek to evoke buried memories, fragments of a time that floats, suspended in each piece," she says. With her touch, Caban's furniture seems to breathe, as if the wood, cane, and fabric fibers were whispering the stories they carry.
One of the brand's favorite materials, cane, takes Nicolas back to his childhood. "I can still see myself at my grandmother's house, in that room bathed in soft light, filled with the smell of Ovaltine and coffee. I would run my fingers through the tiny holes in the cane of her chaise longue, a gesture that seemed magical to me at the time, as if I were caressing a frozen moment with my fingertips." Caban' draws inspiration from these tactile and visceral emotions to offer furniture that resonates far beyond its functionality.
Each piece of Caban' furniture is designed in Guadeloupe, a choice that is as much symbolic as it is a desire to root the brand in its homeland. The manufacturing, however, takes place abroad. Caban' is committed to using solid wood and plant fibers not only for their strength and nobility, but above all for what they evoke. The materials chosen, due to their solidity and texture, possess a primary quality that defies time and improves with age. Each sideboard, each chair, each light fixture seems to vibrate under the weight of the memories of those who imagined it.
While the brand is online at cabanhome.com, where each piece is carefully presented, it can also be discovered in a private showroom in Jarry, at the corner of Nobel and Fulton Streets. This discreet presentation and desire to remain in an intimate setting make a visit here a unique experience. You don't come here just to see a piece of furniture, but to experience an atmosphere, a little like stepping into a family novel, a place steeped in memory.
Caban’ also communicates with its followers on Instagram and Facebook, under the name @cabanhome. Through their posts, Nicolas, Mickael, and Shahine share moments from their lives, fragments of inspiration, and details that can only be discovered by looking closely. Their community finds an echo there, an invitation to enter this world where you don't just buy furniture, but the idea of a refuge.
The founders are already preparing new collections for 2025, working alongside local designers, driven by a shared ambition: that each piece of furniture should bear the mark of a memory and a beloved place.
