maison et objet award for NOW design a vivre : designboom TOP 10

winning design: ‘spotted nyonya’ by hans tan studio for FARM

for this fall 2011 edition of the award ‘les découvertes’, designboom has been chosen by the renown paris fair maison et objet to select the best project on show of the design sector ‘now! design à vivre’ . the distinction ‘les découvertes’ (meaning: the discovered, inventions …) rewards the most impressive new products, created by newcomers to the scene. through a difficult finalist selection process, the winner has been chosen, but all of our TOP 10 heroes truly deserve to be celebrated … and sadly there are many, many more we would need to mention here.

TOP 1 ‘spotted nyonya’ by hans tan for FARM image © designboom

the award goes to ‘spotted nyonya’ by hans tan studio, a range designed for singapore-based creative agency FARM. made of sandblasted porcelain, these contemporary interpretations of historic tableware caught our attention immediately. nonya vessels are native to peranakans in south east asia and are elaborately decorated in a variety of colorful polychrome motifs with a predominantly pink ground. the designer takes these common vessels, which are industrially produced and largely available in singapore and adds an unusual surface treatment by overlaying the original multicolored pattern with a new dotted one. a masked pattern is sandblasted so that areas protected by the mask are preserved, while original glaze from unprotected areas are erased to expose the white ‘bisquit’ porcelain beneath. the result is a very contemporary collection of unique pieces. CONGRATULATIONS!

TOP 2 ‘balloon bowl’ by maarten de ceulaer / part of the exhibition ‘belgium is design’ image © designboom

our second choice is ‘balloon bowl’ by belgian designer maarten de ceulaer. balloon bowls are created by casting strong synthetic plaster into a balloon, after which a second balloon is inserted and inflated. these two balloons act as flexible moulds, ensuring a unique shape for each bowl. great colors! more info here.

TOP 3 ‘marbelous wood’ by pernille snedker hansen for danish crafts collection image © designboom

the third honorable mention goes to ‘marbelous wood’ – here the old technique of marbling interacts with the scandinavian tradition of pine wood surface treatments to create an unusual, slightly psychedelic effect. the colorful marbling patterns are the result of color freely floated on either plain water or a viscous solution and then carefully transferred to the absorbent wood surface. ‘marbelous wood’ has been created by pernille snedker hansen and is on show at the danish crafts collection booth. more info here.

TOP 4

‘francis’ mirror by constance guisset for petite friture

created by french designer constance guisset for the paris-based company petite friture, the ‘francis’ mirrors place soft washes of colour directly onto their viewing surfaces: the ‘results of a series using pigments vanishing on water’ that are designed to suggest convexity and depth. more info here.

TOP 5 ‘plan’ vase by sébastien cordoléani for moustache

sébastien cordoléani, french designer (based in barcelona) shows minimal-slim tableware – vases that become beautiful water basins.

TOP 6 ‘surprise surprise’ wall light by stephen johnson for artecnica

the quintessential gift with a surrealistic and familiar appearance, designed to make you smile… this wall lamp with its exciting silver reflective finish evokes memories of past birthday parties of our childhood.

TOP 7 ‘SP-7’ table by schwab panther for thorsten van elten

the wire bended frame of this low table ‘SP-7’ is held together by tension and pressure only (no screws or other joints are used). various color combinations are offered. not longer a prototype, the table by german design team flo schwab and georg panther is now available at thorsten van elten’s (online) store.

taiwan-born, sweden-based designer hung-ming chen (aka cheng karlsson) shows a pendant lamp to showcase your treasured objects beneath a light source. now in production, brand new, available at eno studio. more info here.

TOP 9 ‘made of chair’ by been kim, part of the ‘meet by chance’ exhibition of korean designers.

this armchair by beeeen – korean designer been kim – is made of compressed rice straw.

the here applied craft technique comes from the thai chula kite waiving, where flexible seesuk bamboo is used. the work of korakot is on show in the exhibition ‘thai talent’, organized by the thai department of export promotion of the ministry of commerce.

— the fall installment of the bi-annual trade show maison et objet serves as the perfect place to pick up a good dose of product news. among the 3 most important european events for interior design, maison et objet is a huge collection of innovation and talent all in one place.

maison & objet paris nord, parc des expositions (villepinte exhibition centre) september 09-13, 2011