ARTE Distribution

"Chic ! meets" : Juan Amador - "A potted history" of the Coconut chair - "Rising trends" : Concrete jewellery - "What to do with" oranges ? - "Insights" : Joris Laarman

"Chic ! meets" : Juan Amador
This week's creative talent is chef Juan Amador. His penchant for experimenting and his molecular adventures have earned him increasing recognition, but despite this success, he continues to seek out new flavours to stand out from commonplace cuisine. A philosophy he puts into daily practice at his restaurant in Langen, a few kilometres outside Frankfurt.

"A potted history" of the Coconut chair
It's the story of an American designer, Georges Nelson who loved to create furniture that was aesthetic, practical and philosophical. All his creations had to embody the idea of progress and modernity. He worked with the greatest names of his era, Charles and Ray Eames, who invented the molded shell, and Isamu Noguchi, who designed the famous Akari lamps. In the 1950s, he had fun inventing two completely offbeat armchairs - the Marshmallow Bench and the Coconut Chair. The idea behind the chair was to reproduce the form of a shell. Georges Nelson took his inspiration from shapes in nature to design a totally curved chair. Moulded in plastic and glass fibre, supported by three small chrome legs, the Coconut Chair met with huge success particularly among wealthy American industrialists. 82 cm high, 104 cm wide, and 84 cm deep, the Coconut Chair embodies simplicity, comfort and mobility. The Coconut Chair today resides in the most prestigious museums. It has become a veritable 20th century design icon.

"Rising trends" : Concrete jewellery
Jewellery designers, like Patrice Fabre and Marie-Françoise Rouy are taking their inspiration from increasingly surprising sources, particularly from concrete.

"What to do with" oranges ?
We asked top pasty chef Pierre Hermé what to do with an orange, a fruit that is omnipresent in Spain. Especially for Chic, the Parisian pastry chef concocted an exceptional dessert.

"Insights" : Joris Laarman
You've probably already heard of the young trio of Dutch designers, the Demekersvans. Today we meet their neighbour in the workshop next to them in Rotterdam - Joris Laarman, another design prodigy. Like the Demerkersvans, he was noticed at the Endhoven design school by the great priestess of trends, Li Edelkoort. The young man's talent carried him along... and he earned immediate recognition. Blending poetry and experimentation, Joris Laarman's objects and pieces of furniture have already become design classics and are now on display at major international biennials.