Its mastermind, Axel de Beaufort, is a former custom yacht designer who was handpicked to steer this squad six years ago by Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the brand’s overall creative director. Since then, de Beaufort has pushed beyond bespoke into a new level of custom luxury—call it “ultraspoke.”
Past projects have ranged from a skateboard with a classic scarf print to engineering an all-carbon bicycle, boxing gloves, and, of course, several motor yachts, including the interior of an 85-footer. Think of it as the next-next-level to the Hermès roller skates available in store. De Beaufort and his team reconceived the interior of a vintage Aston Martin DB4’s interior with gold calfskin and New Zealand wool; they’ve even produced door handles swathed in signature, saddle-stitched leather. Tasked with a foosball table, they hired a professional sculptor to craft each player, subbing jockeys for soccer stars as a winking nod to the brand’s horsey roots.
The Sur-Mésure team doesn’t yet offer appliances, though kitchen designer Joanne Hudson has sold two customized Le Cornue stoves, painted in what she calls “Hermès-inspired” orange. But then again, who does their own cooking?
Cost: Sur-Mésure’s projects are individually priced, but the foosball table cost around $70,000; Hudson charges $100,000 for each of her kitchen projects
A Sno-Cat for Their Chalet
The new Rolls-Royce Cullinan may be able to drive up a mountain, but drop it on a pile of deep powder, and it will sink like a $325,000 stone—albeit an opulent one.
A savvy master of the snowy universe will leave such SUVs for the sweaty masses and opt for a Sno-Cat from Tucker, a small Oregon-based shop that’s been cranking out a few dozen of the machines every year since World War II.
Unlike snow groomers, a Tucker Sno-Cat sits on four hollow pontoons that articulate independently (thus the “cat” nomenclature), a design that lets it float atop snow and still make progress if one of the big paws falls into a crevasse.
These days, most Tuckers go to the U.S. military or oil-drilling crews, but the company is increasingly getting orders from private land owners with remote chalets. Skip the snowmobile and its frigid whine in favor of a cozy cabin with a sonorous stereo. It’s the civilized choice. And they can have any color they want—provided it’s prison-uniform orange.
Cost: $125,000 and up
A Whole Holstein Cow
It’s the meaty secret weapon on which chefs such as David Chang, April Bloomfield, and Nancy Silverton stake their reputation: Holstein beef, America’s homegrown alternative to wagyu. Holstein cows are widespread on U.S. farms with their black-and-white coats; thanks to the volume of milk they produce, most farmers use them for dairy production. But it took a shrewd San Francisco butcher to spot their potential to rival USDA prime staples like Hereford or Angus cattle.