As we mentioned before, Maison et Objet Paris is set to comeback from 7-11 September 2018. As tradiction ditactes, the prestigious lifestyle and design event always selects six rising talents that representive the future of design. This time around, M&O went to Lebanon and chose its most extremely skiled designers: Anastasia Nysten, Carla Baz, Carlo Massoud, Marc Dibeh, Paola Sakr and Studio Caramel. Now, Paris Design Agenda will get to know about the work of each designer, so make sure to go on this journey with us!
Coming from a multicultural background, Anastasia Nystew chose Lebanon to pursue a degree in industrial design at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts. After she concluded her studies, she commenced working with Karen Chekerdjian and, sometime after that, with Michael Anastassiades in London. In 2015, she established her own design studio specialised in furniture and interiors.
Helsinki will be the stage for her latest renovation project. She has also been distinguished by the Beirut Design Fair for the design of her Troll Chair, which combined Scandinavian comfort with a bold aesthetic. This is one of the characteristic features of her work, which systematically pushes formal research beyond the classics, but always makes use of natural materials.
“I am very excited about this experience! This event will unquestionably turn the limelight on us and our country.” – Anastasia Nysten
The French-Lebanese designer has a masters degree in product design for the Luxury Industry from ECAL Lausanne. While studying here, she started building relations with other designers, but it was in London, where she had the privilege to train with Zaha Hadid Architects. Later on, she started her solo career which landed her a recognition by the Boghossian Foundation, that were quite moved by the elegant lines of her designs.
Calling on the expertise of Lebanon’s most experienced artisans, her furniture reveals the beauty of fine materials. One of the best examples of this is her Hay Bench, a handcrafted design made of solid oak and completed using traditional cane weaving techniques. In addition, her stunning Borgia candelabra was produced by Bonadea. The extraordinary design was made from solid brass, hand-brushed and hand-polished.
“Today, highly experienced artisans have inherited this expertise passed down through generations and continue to preserve these crafts.” – Carla Baz
— Carlo Massoud —
Carlo Massoud graduated from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts and ECAL Lausanne, and afterwards, moved to New York to further enhance his craft. Massoud later joined Nasser Nabik Architect where he supervised bespoke furniture designs for high-end residential projects. In 2014, he started his solo career by showing his Dolls project at the Carwan Gallery.
Through an artistic approach, his work is best defined by a balance between functional design and art, while also having a social and political statement, take, for example, the African fertility dolls inspired his Autopsy project, a collection of stools that he designed in collaboration with his sister Mary-Lynn Massoud, the Otto du Plessis foundry and the South African Imiso ceramicist Andile Dyalvane. He has also come to explore new manufacturing processes for brass pieces, such as Boule and Capture.
“In a country like ours, where there is virtually no industry, design lives by virtue of local craftsmen making small-batch productions, sold in galleries or by word of mouth.” – Carlo Massoud
— Marc Dibeh —
Marc Dibeh has a masters degree in product design from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts. After that, he gained experience by working alongside Marc Baroud. Then, the Beirut-based designer opened his own studio back in 2009 and since then he has been exhibiting his work all around the world, including Paris, London and Miami.
He gives great importance to create something that has a story while also keeping that same interior or product timeless and simple. Please, Don’t Tell Mom is one of his most compelling designs. It is comprised of five mirrors that were broken accordingly and elevated by angles in order to form a 3D shape. Inspired by the “Jungle Protocol” exhibition held during the House of Today’s Design Biennial, Dibeh created a very dramatic rattan umbrella system, which he named “Somewhere Under the Leaves”, an evocation of a safe haven in the jungle.
“Behind each story there are people, relationships and memories. It is like packing a whole world into a single object.” – Marc Dibeh
Paola Skar graduated from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in product design. Nevertheless, she is quite skilled in other areas as well, including photography and art. This versatility for multidisciplinary has allowed her to completely satisfy her taste for innovation and her curiosity, which are actually the basis of her projects. She has already taken part in a wide variety of design festivals, including in Beirut and Dubai, that gave her the opportunity to show her experiments.
Everything she creates has their own story, for instance, Impermanence which is a series of vases was made from a pile of concrete cylinders she found on the edge of a construction site. At the same, the designer also has the ability to transform things into useful objects, such as the Morning Ritual collection, consisting of recycled coffee grounds and old newspapers. As a whole, her approach is consistent with the original function of product design: finding a solution to a specific problem, establishing a “collaboration with the world”.
“There is still so much potential to explore in new materials, potential to develop products that could find applications even in luxury markets.” – Paola Skar
Studio Caramel is comprised of Karl Chucri and Rami Boush, who first met when they were studying interior designer at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in Beirut, but it was only a few years later that the dynamic duo reunited to create their studio in 2016. With plenty of experience under their belts from working with several architecture firms, their creations are often shaped by a specific context without ever compromising on the furniture’s capacity to decorate a room.
Some of the duo’s most iconic pieces are the Mirage music box and the Indolente armchair. These designs bring a nostalgic feeling of the 50’s and consequently benefit from vintage details and historical references. They were also behind the design of the Baron bar cart for a restaurant designed by FaR Architects.
“Exploring elaborate details and bold materials, our duo converges to create innovative and unusual combinations.” – Studio Caramel
These emerging creators are indeed a representation of the future of Lebanese design, a new generation that has followed the footsteps of their ancestors by putting their international experience to the service of local, usually little-known manufacturing techniques. During Maison et Objet, each designer will showcase their extraordinary work and talk a bit about their experience, so don’t miss it!
Source: Maison et Objet
