Maison & Objet is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2015 with high hopes and global ambitions. Along with its two Paris shows (one in January, the other in September), M&O presented the second Asian edition in Singapore (March) and the premier American edition in Miami (May).
Maison & Objet America was hot stuff – with the temperature topping 30º C and the humidity truly breathtaking; 350 exhibitors from 24 countries filling the Miami Beach Convention Centre in sexy South Beach; a host of events in surrounding neighbourhoods, including (of course) the Miami Design District; and a roster of design luminaries making an appearance, from Dror Benshetrit, Piero Lissoni, Paola Navone and David Rockwell to Canada’s own Karim Rashid, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
As befits a show in its infancy, Maison & Objet Americas showcased Rising American Talents: seven promising designers – from Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Colombia,
Brazil and Argentina – who, with the charm and exuberance of youth, effortlessly stole the show.
Following are “snapshots” of the “lucky seven.”
1 Lukas Peet, CANADA
Graduate of the Netherlands’ prestigious Design Academy Eindhoven; overall winner of the Toronto-based DX’s first Emerging Designer Competition; lives in Vancouver; designs furniture, lighting, decorative and industrial objects, graphics and public spaces.
2 Casey Lurie, U.S. West Coast
Spent three years in Tokyo as designer-in-residence for Idée, Japan’s leading furniture manufacturer; established his own studio in Chicago.
3 David Pompa, MEXICO
Studied product design in London; grew up in Mexico and Austria, so his interdisciplinary studio – which rethinks Mexican artistry – is based in both countries.
4 Cristián Mohaded, ARGENTINA
Grew up in Argentinian countryside, studied at the university at Cordoba, now lives in Buenos Aires; moves between product and interior design.
5 Leo Capote, BRAZIL
Grew up in São Paulo surrounded by items in his family’s hardware store; introduces the tools of DIY in his products and spaces.
6 Ramon Laserna, COLOMBIA
Studied in Bogota; fuses the disciplines of design, photography and kinetics; leans toward the geometric and the abstract.
7 Max Gunawan, U.S. WEST COAST
Born in Jakarta, based in San Francisco; spent 10 years as an architect before creasing Lumio,
a studio dedicated to multi-
functional objects; believes in clean-line design.