Maison & Objet Looks to U.S. for Rising Talent Award Winners
Glass tables that mimic packing crates and floral-inspired chandeliers are among the pieces by these emerging talents
Up-and-coming product designers from the United States were in the spotlight at this month’s Maison & Objet trade show in Paris. The twice-yearly design fair’s Rising Talent Awards honor emerging design talent from around the world, and designers from a single country are chosen for each show. For the September 2019 fair, a jury of eminent U.S. design professionals selected six promising American product designers and design firms to receive awards. Read about them and see their work below.
Photo by Christoper Stoltz
Many of Brokamp’s furniture designs relate to workday functional objects that fade into the landscape: speed bumps, shipping palettes, a laundry line draped in garments and food delivery truck graphics. His Handle With Care table, above, is composed of glass boxes arranged like parcels on a mirror-finish aluminum palette base.
Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Brokamp says that he looked up to his grandfather, who worked as a pipefitter. “I think there’s a blue collar aesthetic to my design.”
Brokamp has worked for the brands Such + Such, Mattermade Studio, Rookwood Pottery, Brendan Ravenhill and Stuff by Andrew Neyer.
Many of Brokamp’s furniture designs relate to workday functional objects that fade into the landscape: speed bumps, shipping palettes, a laundry line draped in garments and food delivery truck graphics. His Handle With Care table, above, is composed of glass boxes arranged like parcels on a mirror-finish aluminum palette base.
Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Brokamp says that he looked up to his grandfather, who worked as a pipefitter. “I think there’s a blue collar aesthetic to my design.”
Brokamp has worked for the brands Such + Such, Mattermade Studio, Rookwood Pottery, Brendan Ravenhill and Stuff by Andrew Neyer.
Photo by Mark Juliana
Harold
Designers Reed Hansuld, 31, and Joel Seigle, 29, each had a grandfather named Harold whom they grew up admiring, so they decided it was the perfect name for the Brooklyn, New York, design studio they founded in 2015.
“Reed and I were roommates when we started this company, and we started by making things that we needed personally,” Seigle says. Today, the custom furniture coming out of their Red Hook neighborhood studio is catching attention for its classically clean lines.
Harold
Designers Reed Hansuld, 31, and Joel Seigle, 29, each had a grandfather named Harold whom they grew up admiring, so they decided it was the perfect name for the Brooklyn, New York, design studio they founded in 2015.
“Reed and I were roommates when we started this company, and we started by making things that we needed personally,” Seigle says. Today, the custom furniture coming out of their Red Hook neighborhood studio is catching attention for its classically clean lines.
Photo by Joel Seigle
They also selected the name Harold because it evokes a past era, which works with the midcentury modern vibe of their designs. Their product line ranges from high-end furnishings to affordable accessories and includes record album racks, ceramic planters and many wood objects, such as this three-pronged candle holder with a walnut veneer and brass fittings.
They also selected the name Harold because it evokes a past era, which works with the midcentury modern vibe of their designs. Their product line ranges from high-end furnishings to affordable accessories and includes record album racks, ceramic planters and many wood objects, such as this three-pronged candle holder with a walnut veneer and brass fittings.
Photo by Black & Steil
Rosie Li
In 2011, when designer Rosie Li was a senior at Rhode Island School of Design, she presented her thesis project to a group of faculty and guest critics. The work, a triangular sconce inspired by the artist Frank Stella, so impressed lighting designer Lindsey Adelman, that she snapped a photograph and sent it to Jason Miller, a designer and producer in New York.
“That launched my career in lighting,” says Li, 30, who grew up in Palo Alto, California. Miller not only produced her Stella lamp through his company, Roll & Hill, but he also added Li to his staff.
Rosie Li
In 2011, when designer Rosie Li was a senior at Rhode Island School of Design, she presented her thesis project to a group of faculty and guest critics. The work, a triangular sconce inspired by the artist Frank Stella, so impressed lighting designer Lindsey Adelman, that she snapped a photograph and sent it to Jason Miller, a designer and producer in New York.
“That launched my career in lighting,” says Li, 30, who grew up in Palo Alto, California. Miller not only produced her Stella lamp through his company, Roll & Hill, but he also added Li to his staff.
Photo by Black & Steil
Today, Li works independently in Brooklyn designing and producing decorative light fixtures, many with botanical themes like palm fronds, gingko blossoms or laurel leaves. Her Laurel Blossom chandelier, above, features thin pieces of brass cut into the shape of leaves.
All of Li’s lighting parts are fabricated in-house or culled from local vendors and meticulously assembled by hand in her Brooklyn studio. Each piece is made to order.
Today, Li works independently in Brooklyn designing and producing decorative light fixtures, many with botanical themes like palm fronds, gingko blossoms or laurel leaves. Her Laurel Blossom chandelier, above, features thin pieces of brass cut into the shape of leaves.
All of Li’s lighting parts are fabricated in-house or culled from local vendors and meticulously assembled by hand in her Brooklyn studio. Each piece is made to order.
Photos by Kin & Co.
Kin & Co.
“I highly recommend the cousin relationship as business partners,” says Kira de Paola, 38, who in 2017 launched the design studio Kin & Co. with her first cousin Joseph Vidich, 41. “There’s no husband-and-wife baggage, no sibling baggage. It’s the perfect amount of closeness.”
De Paola grew up in California and Vidich in Manhattan, but the cousins saw each other regularly at family events. After De Paola moved to New York for college, their social circles overlapped, and a professional bond was sealed with a common interest in furniture design and fabrication.
Kin & Co.
“I highly recommend the cousin relationship as business partners,” says Kira de Paola, 38, who in 2017 launched the design studio Kin & Co. with her first cousin Joseph Vidich, 41. “There’s no husband-and-wife baggage, no sibling baggage. It’s the perfect amount of closeness.”
De Paola grew up in California and Vidich in Manhattan, but the cousins saw each other regularly at family events. After De Paola moved to New York for college, their social circles overlapped, and a professional bond was sealed with a common interest in furniture design and fabrication.
The cousins have been recognized for their skill and talent for transforming thin sheets of metal into beautiful furniture. Their Thin Tete-a-Tete chair, shown here, features a pair of seats and backs balanced on two sets of delicate legs (one set of legs is hidden in this photo).
The design team has also moved into the curatorial realm, organizing an exhibition of outdoor furniture for the 2019 NYCxDesign festival.
The design team has also moved into the curatorial realm, organizing an exhibition of outdoor furniture for the 2019 NYCxDesign festival.
Photos by Ian Cochran
Bailey Fontaine
After studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bailey Fontaine, 23, moved to New York and immediately felt the scale, shapes and density of the Big Apple creeping into his work. “I’m probably the one hundred thousandth designer to say I’m inspired by natural formations,” Fontaine says. But he is also influenced by the rigorous geometries of his adopted city.
Bailey Fontaine
After studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bailey Fontaine, 23, moved to New York and immediately felt the scale, shapes and density of the Big Apple creeping into his work. “I’m probably the one hundred thousandth designer to say I’m inspired by natural formations,” Fontaine says. But he is also influenced by the rigorous geometries of his adopted city.
Fontaine specializes in sculptural furniture and accessories, exploring the materiality of concrete, rusted steel and paper clay. His Plane Planter, above, is made out of paper clay and intertwines his love of geometry and nature.
“I’m really interested in this heavy, Brutalist sort of design language but also accentuating that sharp language with some circular cutouts you might not expect to see,” Fontaine says.
“I’m really interested in this heavy, Brutalist sort of design language but also accentuating that sharp language with some circular cutouts you might not expect to see,” Fontaine says.
Photos by Andrew Jacobs
Green River Project
Five years ago, Ben Bloomstein, 31, and Aaron Aujla, 32, closed the art gallery they founded along the Green River in upstate New York and opened a new art and design space in Brooklyn that they named Green River Project as a reminder of their artistic roots.
Trained as artists, Bloomstein and Aujla now create custom furnishings and fittings for private clients. They also design products that they sell out of their gallery in Manhattan’s East Village.
Green River Project
Five years ago, Ben Bloomstein, 31, and Aaron Aujla, 32, closed the art gallery they founded along the Green River in upstate New York and opened a new art and design space in Brooklyn that they named Green River Project as a reminder of their artistic roots.
Trained as artists, Bloomstein and Aujla now create custom furnishings and fittings for private clients. They also design products that they sell out of their gallery in Manhattan’s East Village.
Green River Project’s furniture collections are created from diverse materials, including African mahogany, bamboo and aluminum. This Chrysler Building table is made out of polished aluminum and was inspired by the famous Manhattan skyscraper it’s named after.
“We try our best to treat each material as democratically as possible and see it not for its value or rarity but more for its visual quality and where we’re drawing inspiration from,” Bloomstein says.
“We try our best to treat each material as democratically as possible and see it not for its value or rarity but more for its visual quality and where we’re drawing inspiration from,” Bloomstein says.
Photo by Aethion
Previous editions of the Rising Talent Awards have focused on the creativity of the United Kingdom, Italy, Lebanon and China. Above, the Rising Talent Awards hall from this month’s show features various pieces from the winning product designers and design firms.
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Previous editions of the Rising Talent Awards have focused on the creativity of the United Kingdom, Italy, Lebanon and China. Above, the Rising Talent Awards hall from this month’s show features various pieces from the winning product designers and design firms.
More for Pros on Houzz
Color Trends From the 2019 Maison & Objet Design Show
Emerging Interior Design Trends From Maison & Objet 2019
Browse millions of photos for inspiration
Join the Houzz Trade Program
Alex Brokamp
Alex Brokamp, 27, studied industrial design at the University of Cincinnati and is pursuing his master’s degree in environmental design (furniture and fixtures) at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
“He is a very positive example of young American designers who bridge technical knowledge with simple forms and a sense of lightheartedness in their work,” says Jerry Helling, founder and creative director of Bernardt Design, who nominated Brokamp.