Maison&Objet 2025: an ode to clean craftsmanship
Some of the most distinctive and defining pieces showcased during the January edition of the famed Parisian furniture fair Maison&Objet demonstrate that contemporary surrealism can be about tranquilizing the element of surprise.
My experience as a marketing and creative strategist, writer, and editor is rooted in storytelling. Exploring the world of design is immensely linked to my work, as I’m guided by curiosity and open-mindedness.
WebsiteDespite the cold weather outside, the January edition of Maison&Objet 2025 once again made the streets of Paris sizzle. Gathering some 70,000 visitors, the bi-annual design show’s main event took place at the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte from January 16-20, 2025 while immersive activations throughout the city of love showcased “Maison&Objet In The City”. A fair dedicated to all sectors of the furniture industry, the occasion brought together 2,377 brands (more than half of which were international), including 594 new exhibitors.
Chosen to mark the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto in October 1924, the whimsical theme was Sur/Reality. Surrealism, a movement based on the expression of the subconscious mind through art, poetry, and literature, emerged in Europe in part as a reaction to the devastation of World War I. Maison&Objet’s reintroduction of surrealism is rooted in creative freedom and embracing the otherworldly without sacrificing one’s artistic intuition. As the selection below shows, contemporary surrealism is not all about the shock factor but rather about a design formula that is rooted in cohesion and soft unexpectedness.
Maison&Objet 2025 – A selection:
Jogak Light Collection 02 by Studio BooBoon
The second iteration of the Jogak Lighting Sculpture Series once again reimagines “bojagi,” a traditional Korean fabric practice. The handmade pieces are created using fabric offcuts (“jogak”)–carefully collected, trimmed, and assembled together to form a larger fabric. Made up of Desk Lights, Floor Lights, Tall Lights, and Pendant Lights (available in 4 sensual colors), the Jogak Light Collection balances contemporary aesthetics with traditional craftsmanship. The lighting sculptures are a testament to how functional and distinct pieces can be pieced together from waste.
Founded by designers Jisu Yun and Richard Bone, Paris-based Studio Booboon explores the boundaries between materiality, form, tradition, and modernity. By infusing design solutions into one-of-a-kind elements, Yun and Bone draw inspiration from the essence of the small details that have the power to shape our daily lives.
Pantalica Outdoor Collection by Elisa Ossino and Molteni&C
A love letter to art, circularity, and Mediterranean heritage, conceptualized by Milan-based designer Elisa Ossino in collaboration with Molteni&C, the Pantalica Outdoor Collection draws its name from the Pantalica nature reserve, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in southeastern Sicily. The sculptural outdoor furniture pieces are both functional and infused with the restorative presence of nature. The waving of each piece is in polypropylene, a sustainable material ideal for the outdoors that can continuously be reintroduced into production for use at the end of the product’s life cycle.
Marked by its meditative designs, the collection includes the Pantalica Daybed, Coffee Table, Stools, and Rug, each meticulously crafted to harmonize with the entire Molteni&C Outdoor Collection. The Pantalica Collection offers a fresh perspective on outdoor spaces by fusing tradition with modern, mindful living. The launch of the versatile, elegant styles celebrates Molteni&C’s commitment to redefining the culture of living well, in every place.
Seaglass Light Objects by Milena Kling
Mouth-blown in free-flowing glass, every piece of Berlin-based Milena Kling’s Seaglass Lights collection honors nature’s slow, unceasing acts of creation. The collectible handmade objects are shaped by the ocean and softened by fine sand–the outcome of countless hours spent on the beaches in search of shapes that remind us of the beauty of slowness. With their gentle mat smooth finish, the lights are available in various sizes, shapes, and colors.
Minimal and sensual, Milena Kling crafts bespoke glass products, installations, and objects that convey her intuitive understanding of traditional artisanship and tactile material transformations. Kling’s masterful experimental designs complement harmonious and atmospheric interior spaces as everyday rituals are bathed in new meaning through her breathtaking treasures.
Sfera by Victoria Wilmotte for pulpo
The Sfera Lighting Collection marks a captivating collaboration between pulpo, a high-end design editor, and renowned product and interior designer Victoria Wilmotte. Sfera conveys pulpo’s signature blend of daring elegance and functional design. Sfera’s triangular steel frame, available in a high-gloss finish or a velvety glaze, is punctuated by three hand-blown luminous glass globes–geometric pieces that come in smoky grey, chrome, fango green, and orange glaze. Imaginative and triggering, the Sfera Light radiates a crisp, sculptural light and creates an avant-garde yet somehow calming ambiance.
Paris-born Wilmotte’s design process mimics the one of a sculptor. As she strives to find that perfect angle or most engaging curve, she polishes the surfaces to the point when they precisely shape the composition, haptics, and light refraction she has identified in her mind at the beginning. Wilmotte has previously teamed up and conceptualized design projects for ClassiCon, Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Legrand, Equip’Hôtel, Made in Design, Poliform, La Pierre de France, La Redoute, Vervloet, Wallpaper, LCDA, IKEA, Piasa, Systra, and Land Rover.
Bled Bar Stool by Woak
Designed by Croatian designer and art director Zoran Jedrejčić, The Bled Bar Stool made its debut at Maison&Objet 2025. In unison with design studio Woak’s multi-faceted brand DNA, rooted in the intersection of cultures and fusing traditional woodworking craftsmanship with innovation, the Bled Bar Stool is characterized by its slightly rounded corners, unfussy lines, compact dimensions, and a minimalist, clean visual identity which renders it an ideal fit for a rich variety of spaces and environments. The Bled Bar Stool was showcased together with the Bled Armchair–both pieces can be made of walnut or oak and in five colors. They come with fabric or leather-upholstered seats.
After seven years of fruitful collaborations with Ettore Sottsass, Zoran Jedrejčić has opened a design studio in Milan and one in Belgrade. Winner of prestigious awards such as Red Dot and IF Design Awards, his works have been exhibited in prestigious museums including MAK Vienna, ICA Boston, MoMA NY, and Ozone Centre Tokyo. Jedrejčić currently serves as Art Director of the Belgrade Furniture Fair and visiting professor at ISIA-Florence, NABA-Milano, IAAD-Torino, and Academy of Fine Arts-Belgrade.
Maison&Objet 2025 honored British designer Faye Toogood as Designer of the Year. Her installation, “Womanifesto: Ceci n’est pas une chaise”, a surrealist space that invited visitors into her mind and creative process, conveyed Toogood’s signature eclectic, avant-garde style rooted in blending art into functional design. Industrial pieces and others in limited production were arranged in a dreamlike, unique setting.
As a strong barometer for the furniture and hospitality trends we’re guaranteed to see unravel in the next 12 months, Maison&Objet kicked off 2025 with an assortment of captivating aesthetic philosophies–a multilayered creative realm where the ordinary is gently infused with the extraordinary, a dance between fantasy and everyday life that dares us to alter our surroundings through tension-free tactics.
