Imperfectio│Boca do Lobo
This Portuguese label has a knack for grabbing your attention. If you’re looking for subtly, look elsewhere. But there is a time and a place for the absurd, and when you find yourself there and in need of a good sit, the Imperfectio sofa or armchair will happily oblige.
Puro Eclectic│Brokis
The Czech lighting brand came to Paris to debut several collections including this dynamic suspended pendant, designed by Brokis art director Lucie Koldova and made of hand-blown glass Puro (Spanish for “cigar”) tubes intended to enliven dining tables through an interplay between horizontal and vertical luminous cigar tubes levitating in space above simple bell lights.
Space Oddity│Non Sans Raison
Plates are a big thing at Maison + Objet. Not just to eat on, but to decorate walls with as well. Elevating this simple dishware item is a serious challenge for many French ateliers. Non Sans Raison, in collaboration with French artist Pierre-Charles Jacquemin, have used the plate medium to graphically chart the exploration of space with their newest collection, where each plate embodies a space mission (with equal U.S. and Soviet representation).
Mida│Slamp
Inspired by the world of haute couture jewels, this ceiling/wall lamp designed by Adrian Orachele looks like a floral corolla encrusted with cabachon gems, and uses a clever magnetic system to achieve the effect. Available in five colour combinations and handcrafted of white Opalflex and printed Lentiflex.
Soul│Pedrali
An Italian furniture company enlisted a Catalan designer (Eugeni Quitllet) for a collection that caught German eyes (Special Mention of the German Design Award 2019 in the Excellent Product Design Furniture category). How international. Smarminess aside, this chair is impressive: a flowing ash structure is joined together by an almost invisible polycarbonate seat, making both materials seem connected yet independent.
Dédé│Alessi
Padding the furnishing accessories catalogue, Philippe Starck has reinterpreted a cult object he designed back in the 1990s. His “solitary and plump” anthropomorphic doorstops now come in thermoplastic resin and matte colours with a new finish. Let’s see if their popularity holds now that cannabis is legal in Canada.
Aluminum textile│Molo
The Vancouver outfit’s sweeping landscape of sculpted paper walls got a serious upgrade at the Paris show. Their softwall + softblock lines are now micro-coated in aluminum, casting a fascinating interplay of light, colour and shadow as light refracts off the pleated surfaces. Up close, the intricate pattern of textile fibres is made more visible by the thinness of the coating.
Swirl│Tom Dixon
At Maison & Objet this year, Tom Dixon launched this mysterious new material that resembles 3D marbled paper yet has the weight of stone. The process involves recycling powdered residue from the marble industry, mixed with pigment and resin to create blocks of material that can then be sawn, sliced and turned on a lathe.
Koichi Futatsumata cutlery│Valerie Objects
Inspired by his favorite technical pencil, Futatsumata formed with cutlery a combination of flat surface and octagonal section, with flat surfaces remained only at both ends, and the main part of the body is octagonal shape in section. The range includes a spoon, a knife and a fork and chopstick.
Moire Collection│Atelier George
The output of radiant glass objects from this team of artisans is remarkable, such as their newest collection, named after the moiré patterns of fabrics like tulle, explores optical and transparency effects and is obtained by overlaying two similar printed or woven patterns. The collection itself ranges from light fittings and fine tableware to wall tiles, all of which are handmade using hot glass techniques.
Overtures│Marc Loustalot
From a distance, the table looks like a clean assemblage of glacier white Corian and solid oak legs. Closer inspection reveals seemingly random holes drilled into the surface, disturbing the traditional ordering of a table and its contract with users. When it is finally explained that the holes accommodate glassware, the cheeky brilliance of Loustalot’s creation is unmistakable.
