Let’s start talking

We’ve been actively working for months without saying a word. Now it’s time to introduce ourselves and talk about what we are doing.

Étienne and I are the co-founders of this not-yet-officially-created software company called Atelier Convivialité.

A few months ago we decided to work together and start our own software company. We like to work for ourselves and we share the same philosophy on how tools should be.

Software with a philosophy

Our company is named after Ivan Illich’s essay “Tools for Conviviality” which enlightened us very much.

In a nutshell, Illich’s essay states that a convivial tool should be efficient without degrading the user’s autonomy.

This simple idea may sound like common sense but most computer tools don’t even come close to that. It means a lot to us and we are taking it very seriously.

Many craftsmen are struggling with tools unadapted for their work. People end up doing work that should be automated.

Why is that? It may be because a specific tool don’t exist for their craftsmanships, or because the available tools became unadapted due to the new technologies. Or it could also be because they are poorly designed.

Bad tools get in the way and hurt. Good tools ought to be forgotten and help you work better.

So we decided to develop software that solve simple problems with this naive idea: we can do better and simpler.

Our tools will do less than our competitors because you ain’t gonna need it.

We also wrote a little red book. We want to develop convivial tools. We want our products to be simple and secure, and we want to be as transparent as possible.

Stay tuned

There’s plenty of ways to keep in touch. You can subscribe to our blog feed and follow us.

We also have a customer support forum on GetSatisfaction. You can also use the comments here or send us an email at info@atelierconvivialite.com.