Emile Galle had versatile talents and interests. He understood graphics and painting, design theory, the production of glass and ceramics, and designed household items. In 1884, Galle purchased a piece of land in Nancy next to his house on the Rue La Garenne and built a furniture workshop there. The 80s of the XIX century were devoted to the search for the master’s own style. Experimenting with various materials, he revived the previously popular and forgotten by that time technique of wooden set – marquetry. He liked to introduce poetic quotes into the decor – a technique that he used to decorate glassware, such furniture is now called “talking” (meubles parlantes).

The furniture, created according to the sketches of Emile Galle, was distinguished by the elegance of forms and the sophistication of decorative design. The factory had modern mechanical equipment, but the finishing was done by hand: veneering, carving and relief inlays, inserts from exotic woods, mother-of-pearl and semi-precious stones. installation of gilded overlays. Floristics and butterflies remained the favorite decor motifs.

And although the production of furniture did not become the main thing in the work of Emile Galle, his work had a significant impact on the development of the furniture art of the Art Nouveau era.