Before founding the "ATELIER STEFANSEN" in the Passage du Cheval Blanc, Place de la Bastille , in Paris, in 1989, Joël Philippin-Stefansen extensively honed his craft in the art of marquetry, cabinet-making and French polish application. His training began in September 1973 with an apprenticeship at the workshop of André Féton, a master-craftsman cabinet-maker and restorer in Paris, and was pursued at various other furniture restoration workshops, as well as at evening courses at the Ecole Boulle (in art drawing, marquetry, ornamental engraving and history of interior decorating), drawing courses provided by the Ville de Paris (living models and still life), and conferences at the Ecole du Louvre.