At the origin, the name « Desny » came from the contraction between the two founder’s surnames, Clément Nauny and Desnet, who established their company in 1927, at the 122, avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris.
As Alastair Duncan already pointed, press publications from this time mentioning or showing Desny pieces are very rare ; the chronology remains vague and information sparse. Still, from 1928, the firm seemed to get important commissions of complete sets, but it was especially renown and solicited for its production of little decorative or utility objects – vases, ashtrays, cups, tea or cocktail sets, boxes, etc. – ; silvery metal was the favourite material for those realizations, and its wise combination with glass and wood materials resulted in a very purified and modernist aesthetic.
Numerous prestigious personalities were among the clients of the Desny firm, which collaborated with figures such as Robert Mallet-Stevens of Jean-Michel Frank for the creation of innovative sets, as well as with André Masson or the Giacometti brothers who assisted the elaboration of original pieces.
Desnet’s death, in 1933, was a real drag on the prosperity of the enterprise ; if it is sure that Clément Nanny continued the creation of furniture, lighting and objects for a time after this event, the precise date of the total interruption of the activity remains unknown.