pink | colour & design

Thursday, October 25, 2012

My First Visit to Maison et Objet in Paris

abigail ahern maison et object janice lindsay

British designer Abigail Ahern’s booth at Maison et Objet

I only had one day to tackle the Maison et Objet

show that sprawled across half a dozen buildings

out near Charles De Gaulle Airport

– and each was about the size of a terminal!! So, cutting to the chase…

The trends I noticed were Global Nomad, Grunge Luxury, and Back to Primordial Basics.

Here is my take on Global Nomad:

We evolved as nomads living in nature (the East African Savanna to be precise),

and this trend takes us back - way back - to these roots.

Back to running with the wolves (or lions?).

Everything was animal.

Lots of faux fur, real skins and pelts, animal patterns and motifs, and animals!

Taxidermy (like petrified pets) makes the ultimate accessory

for the living room, dining room, or bookless bookshelf.

Polar bears, birds, bats and tarantulas, you can have an entire menagerie.

A faux giraffe head arched over one booth and many others

had fun takeoffs on wall mounted animal heads

(like Abigail Ahearn’s sequined zebra head pictured at the top).

frederique morrel maison et objet janice lindsay

Frederique Morrel created spectacular animals covered with tapestry and embroidery.

maison et objet janice lindsay bulldog lamp

Less tribal were the witty British bulldog or French poodle porcelain lamps, also by Ahern.

There were also light fixtures and furniture made of horns and pelts.

Nomads need refuge, and there were an abundance of yurts, huts, and tents.

The weathered wood yurts by Bleu Nature were used as café seating areas…

maison et objet janice lindsay tree stump

…along with matching forest furniture that looked like it was made by gnomes.

maison et objet janice lindsay nomad sofa

The booth by Labyrinthe Interiors was like a Bedouin tent of burlap,

about 14 feet high and hung with gorgeous crystal chandeliers

in shapes that echoed Moroccan lanterns as often as those from a French chateau. The tent was furnished with weathered, wood armoires as well as sofas that were simple, monumental and humbly clad in linen.

maison et objet janice lindsay nomad lights

Accessories were all manner of lanterns from bronze to punched tin

- Lawrence of Arabia style.

Upcycled patchwork area rugs softened the de rigueur matte grey rough-hewn floorboards.

Elsewhere, most carpets were shorthaired shags that looked fur-like and gave texture, texture, texture. Copenhagen company private0204 featured flat rugs of recycled hemp

– “individually and originally collected throughout the Anatolian plateau; washed in the sea and dried on the beach to ensure a unique and amazing hemp touch.”

Basically, they looked like they’d been put through the wringer, but flaws and wear and tear are a big part of the nomad aesthetic.

That the same company also had new cashmere shawls that were actually ripped, frayed, and patched to become what they called “one-of-a-kind-ish.”

Another booth had cashmere wraps rolled into bundles and

held with coordinated belts straps

- ready to throw onto the back of a camel or toss into a nomad’s grocery cart...

Next, I will tell you about Maison and colour!

My First Visit to Maison et Objet in Paris

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