Maison et Objet is the vast trade show on the outskirts of Paris that officially kicks of trade show season. It was so exciting to be there in the cold January air surrounded by the latest and greatest in design, getting 2014 off to the best possible start. There is always an overwhelming number of exhibitors, so these really are the edited highlights! Above – I love the new Guatemala wallpaper, part of Miss Print‘s new collection, Collection 3. It also looks fabulous in the grey aka ‘After Dark’.
Maison et Objet’s Designer of the Year 2014, Tom Dixon, was on fine form with some intriguing new launches. I loved the trivet and fruit bowl inspired by internal bone structure – that’s how to appeal to a design geek with a biology degree!
It was great to see Richard Brendon making his first appearance at M&O – I loved his new teapot extending the Patternity range.
I discovered Paola Paronetto at Maison last year when she was showing the white version of these hand-formed pots – I love them in glorious technicolour!
Avant, Ici, Maintenant (Before, Here, Now) by Non Sans Raison is a digital-era interpretation of the dripping technique or ‘action painting’ pioneered by Jackson Pollock in the 1950s. They are finished in platinum.
Maison 2014 was definitely a show in which bright colours dominated and one of my favourite examples of this was Arik Levy‘s Jar RGB for Lasvit, which originally launched in Milan last April.
Following my discovery of the House of Cards stationery range using numbers designed by Charles and Ray Eames, this is AJ Stationery The Office Collection, based on a typeface hand-drawn by Arne Jacobsen in 1937 from the Design Letters series.
I love everything Bethan Gray does and her newest launch, the Stud Table is no exception. And I’m told it looks even better in white!
More bright colours in the Blossom Candlesticks by Anders Nørgaard for Applicata – their stand was like a rainbow! And finally, my favourite find of the day, a series of wallpapers commissioned by the Design Museum and inspired by Wim Crouwel’s graphic design. I can’t wait to spend more time talking to Nathan Philpott and Jemma Ooi aka Custhom about these – watch this space for an interview!
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- out and about :: home london 2014
- out and about :: coadg bursary at home london
- out and about :: east london design show
- out and about :: cornwall
Great selection Katie, especially useful as I’ve missed Maison this year. I do love Patternity:)
Thanks Justyna!
These are great finds at Maison, Katie! I really like the digitally painted plates, but everything is pretty stylish. Hope you had a great trip!
Thanks Tina! It was a lot of fun – worth getting up at 4.15am for! Hope all is going well for you and Sarah – I’ve been following your adventures online! 😉
Great selection indeed! I visited for 1 day and was so overwhelmed by it all, I found it hard to hard to enjoy it.
I have to say though, the most intriguing discovery in this post is that you have a biology degree. How did that transition happen?
Beautiful picks Katie. I love the sofa and the fruit bowl!