Maison Et Objet January 2013

On a sub zero early Friday morning I made my way on the Eurostar to Paris to check out new trends and talent at Maison et Objet.

With under 3 days to cover all 8 halls and see some of the design shops in the City centre I prioritised with the 'Now' hall which is the primary destination for all visitors who want to see the leaders in contemporary furniture (& all homewares) alongside smaller independent creatives like on the BEDG stands.

With the continued trends of: hand crafted techniques/modern processes True and honest to materials Mixed materials Quirky humor Graphic patterns Brass/bronze Juxtaposition of fluro brights and muted neutrals.

There are allot of strong Scandinavian brands represented at Mason; the & tradition stand was no exception. I really liked the SW1 and SW2 tables by Samuel Wilkinson. Their new catalogue was so nice it made its way into my heavily laden bag (only the best catalogues make it in).

GAN rugs, with work by the prolific Patricia Urquiola.

The Functionals stand had its usual impactful monochrome look.

After her success with ‘Circus’ at Innermost Corinna Warm has now launched ‘Glaze’ with them; you may remember me admiring her originals at the Milan furniture Fair in 2010.

HAY can do no wrong in my eyes and yes again launched an impeccable new accessory range; I want all of it!

Day 2 was spend in Paris city centre frequenting some cool design boutiques and high-street retailers; thanks to the handy Interni guide.

Epice Scarves had amazing products beautifully displayed.

Time for a Vin Chaud to keep the snow at bay.

Above is Les Deaux Plateaux a 1986 art instillation at Palais-Royal by Daniel Buren.

Clever sugar cubes.

There was plenty of beautifully crafted design to catch my eye on the Discipline Stand, the ethos of being true to material is very true to my heart. Below the Roule Tray in polished brass and copper; lovely. You should also follow their Instagram to see the adventures of Bob, their well travelled wooden bird friend.

Colonel had a great collection of new products I really liked these Dowood Lights.

The Japan Handmade stand had some exquisitely executed pieces of design; above is a collaboration between Danish design studio OeO and KAIKADO.

In the BEDG Tomas Eyck had some interesting new ceramics.

Vitamin have made a dramatic move away from their quite dated white ceramics; to these two really interesting ranges. The Element vessels (above) which use a mixture of modern machine produced sections right next to hand crafted natural materials.

Luckyboysunday's quirky knitware brought a smile to my face, from the more commercial geometric cushions and throws to the full of character Fancy Nulle (below).

Normann Copenhagen had a large selection of new season products in a breadth of zingy colours. Their catalogue photography is well worth checking out, really strong branding and eye catching.

One very exciting thing for me was that Normann Copenhagen launched the 'Ready' Wall hook and Mirror that I designed (more photos to follow in a new blog).

It was great to see the hooks featured in every 'colour zone' of their stand.

Japanese company Karimoku New Standard had a collection from Scholten & Baijings . I really loved the use of material colour and pattern on each piece.

Artecnica above.

The Pinch stand had its usual collection of beautifully crafted and designed products above the new Holland Park chair.

New storage units on the Case Furniture were following the trend, of mixing textures and colours. I also liked the way they displayed nick-nacks below.

Some lovely new brass accessories on the Matthew Hilton/ De La Espada stand.

Soren Rose Studio had individually numbered and hand made business cards; one way to ensure you didn't loose it.

Malmö Collection by Michele Cazzaniga, Simone Mandelli and Antonio Pagliarulo for Pedrali, very tactile.

Branca Lisboa had quite a few interesting products on their small stand but their WR02 Chair with colour blocking caught my eye first. The paint is rubberised following the mixed materials and colour trend too..

The above stools by Foundry, were interesting and a step away from their wooden/softer looking products; the hammered stool came in several finishes.

Is also had a few hours to skim through the other halls, there were a few brief diamonds in the rough (between fury sofas, golden Buddha's and cooking paraphernalia).