Maison & Objet: 6 Rising Talents

WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo

At Maison & Objet, the biannual fair in Paris that’s considered to be one of the most important in the world, six emerging French designers are given a platform to present their work to and amongst established professionals from around the world.

This year, as Les Ateliers de Paris, a business incubator, support system and gallery located in Paris turns ten, the six selected “Rising Talents” are either former or current residents of Les Ateliers de Paris.

AC/AL Studio

Established in Paris in 2013, AC/AL is a collaborative studio between Amandine Chhor and Aïssa Logerot. The pair have collaborated since 2009 on artisan development projects in Morocco, Cambodia and Cameroon prior to launching their studio, which focuses on creating furniture that strikes a balance between function, technical performance and shape.

Charlotte Juillard

Juillard joined Les Ateliers de Paris in 2014, launching her own studio after having worked with Benetton’s research and development centre in Treviso, Italy, where she developed various projects. The industrial design graduate has also collaborated with a number of high profile clients, including Monoprix and Ligne Roset. At Maison & Objet, Juillard will show Lavastone, her new collection highlighting the qualities of the lavic stone extracted from quarries in the region around Naples.

Pierre Charrié

Charrié is interested in the way sound, movement and touch engage the user and create possibilities for engagement with objects. His work has won him multiple awards, the most recent of which is the Grand Prize for Creativity by the City of Paris, in the design category. He also recently collaborated with fellow Rising Talent Julien Vermeulen to create a fragrance diffuser that consists of a marble base, a carbon stem, and an ostrich feather. When sprayed with a fragrance, the feather absorbs it, and then releases it as it rocks back and forth.

Studio Monsieur

Founded by Manon Leblanc and Romain Diroux in 2012, Studio Monsieur were the 2015 recipients of the Grand Prize for Creativity by the City of Paris. Their work, which is inspired by the manufacturing process, its tools as well as its movements, spans across lighting and furniture design, as well as exhibition and concert scenography.

Désormeaux/Carrette

Established in 2014, Désormeaux/Carrette Studio is a collaborative effort between two industrial product designers, Nathanaël Désormeaux and Damien Carrette. The pair seeks to use new materials and processes. One of the highlights of their working style being the fashion inspired Dita lamp, which was made from felt offcuts and features a zipper which allows the user to change the direction of the light.

Julien Vermeulen

With a diploma in plumasserie (featherwork) as well as fashion training, Vermeulen has lent his skills to well known names in the couture industry such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Dior, Louis Vuitton, as well as Valentino. His exhibition at Maison & Objet will present further exploration of feathers as a medium.