Art
Bouffée ‘d’Art’ Frais


Avec l'explosion de la pandémie de Covid-19 en mars, toutes les foires mondiales d'art contemporain ont été annulées. Art Paris 2020, en septembre, est allé à l'encontre de la tendance et a ouvert au public dans son emplacement habituel au Grand Palais. La décision a été facilitée par l’avantage indéniable de l'immense hauteur de 45 mètres de plafond du Grand Palais ce qui ne compte certainement pas comme un espace confiné ! Voir l'ensemble des galeries ainsi qu'une si grande sélection d'œuvres à regarder a été une véritable bouffée d'air frais. Découvrez nos coups de cœur ci-dessous.

Credit Photo: All photos courtesy the galleries and artists cited

STORY OF THE MONTH
The World is Beautiful

Photo Credit: Portrait of Kenzo Takada courtesy K-3

 

 

“Le Monde est Beau”

Kenzo Takada

 

It was with sadness that we learnt the passing of Kenzo Takada due to Covid-19 complications in Paris on October 4th at the age of 81. He leaves behind him a beautiful legacy of positivity, color, and joy, bolstered by the mantra of his 1988 perfume: ‘Le Monde est Beau’ (The World is Beautiful). In current times, with the global political situation in disarray, the ongoing epidemic, and uncertainty for all, we need positive spirits like the celebrated designer more than ever.

Takado, later known simply as Kenzo, came to Paris in 1964 and was one of the first Japanese designers to achieve success in the capital. With his love of mismatched print, bold color, and jungle imagery, he opened his first jungle-themed store in 1970 taking inspiration from the Henri Rousseau painting; ‘The Dream’ (1910).

 

 

As an energetic young designer, he was instrumental in the creation of the ready-to-wear and modern runway, liberating the models from the staid number based presentations that were dominant before him. Kenzo made no secret of his love for nightlife and was one of the first to bring the party to the runway!

 

 

Selling his namesake brand to LVMH in 1999, and leaving the helm 6 years later, he remained a quintessential figure in contemporary fashion inspiring many young designers, with both his attitude and his style.

Our in-house creative team has chosen a few materials from our selection to honor Kenzo Takada, with colors and transformations that we think he would have enjoyed: ‘Le monde est beau’ indeed!

 

 

 

Please contact us if you are interested in a particular material.

 

 

Credit Photo: All photos courtesy Kenzo & Vogue.com

Design
Designing the Future

After the cancellation of all the physical tradeshows and design salons in Paris since March, we were delighted that Paris Design Week went ahead as planned in various satellite spaces in the city. We took a tour and found inspiration in unexpected material applications and surfaces!

Art
Breath of Fresh ‘Art’!

Since the explosion of the Covid-19 pandemic in March all subsequent global contemporary art fairs have been cancelled. Art Paris 2020, last month, went against the trend and opened to the public in its regular Grand Palais location. The decision to go ahead was helped by the fact that the Grand Palais has a ceiling height of 45 metres, which certainly doesn’t count as a confined space! To see all of the galleries together with such a large selection of works to look at was a breath of fresh air indeed, take a look at some of our favourites above.

Credit Photo: All photos courtesy the galleries and artists cited

STORY OF THE MONTH
Retour à la Vie, Retour à la Réalité

 

 

Les jours raccourcissent et les températures se rafraîchissent, et l'été touche à sa fin avec des irruptions d'averses de pluie, alors que les vacanciers regagnent peu à peu leurs villes et leurs banlieues. Nous, nous préparons à la rentrée, la période qui marque la fin des vacances d'été officielles : retour à l'école, retour au travail ou, plus simplement, retour à la réalité.

 

Après une période de vacances “socialement distanciées” et l'irréalité augmentée des masques, nous sommes prêts à sauter le pas dans la "nouvelle normalité" et à nous adapter à cette étrange réalité. Ici, à American Supply, nous concentrons nos recherches sur les matériaux éco-innovants : des matériaux à la fois innovants et écologiques, donc meilleurs pour la planète. Le mois dernier, nous avons parlé des avantages du liège et expliqué pourquoi il était l'un des matériaux les plus écologiques, de la conception à la production finale en passant par la sylviculture.

 

 

 

Ce mois-ci, nous vous présentons un nouvel élu à la matériauthèque American Supply que nous appelons affectueusement les Air Noodles ! Ses fibres synthétiques sont 100 % recyclables, ce qui lui assure une fin de vie des plus vertueuses. Il est hypoallergénique, sans poussière, sans contaminant, parfaitement durable et non toxique. Le matériau possède une mémoire de forme et une élasticité extraordinaires. il peut supporter des charges répétées allant jusqu'à 140 kilos sans perdre une once de tonus pour rebondir invariablement à sa forme originale. Avec sa structure de nouilles et son aspect visuel unique créée par une extrusion d'élastomères thermoplastiques (TPE), il présente des avantages similaires aux caoutchoucs.

 

 

 

 

Alors que Air Noodles est principalement utilisé dans l'industrie de la literie en raison de sa durabilité, de sa robustesse, de son élasticité et de sa mémoire de forme, nous l'imaginons dans toutes sortes de décors, en fonds de vitrines et au coeur d’une application PLV du fait de sa structure étonnante et de ses qualités rares. La main est douce et non-collante ce qui en fait un matériau idéal pour de nombreuses applications, de l'emballage à  l'ameublement en passant par la décoration d’univers de luxe.

 

 

Contactez-nous pour prendre un rendez-vous afin de voir et manipuler nos Air Noodles labyrinthiques dans leur fascinante étrangeté !

 

 

STORY OF THE MONTH
Back to Life,
Back to Reality

 

 

As the days shorten and the temperatures cool down, summer is drawing to a close with flurries of rain showers as the people trickle back into their hometowns. We are preparing for la rentrée, the period that marks the end of the official summer holidays: back to school, back to work and essentially, back to reality.

 

After a uniquely distanced holiday season with the added unreality of masks; we are ready to dive into the ‘new normal’ and embrace reality. Here at American Supply we are focussing our material research into eco-innovative materials: materials that are both innovative and eco-friendly, and better for the world. Last month we talked of the benefits of Cork and explained why it was one of the greenest materials around, from conception to farming through to final production.

 

 

 

This month we present a brand new material in our library, that we are affectionately referring to as Air Noodles! Its synthetic fibers are 100% recyclable, assuring its virtuous end life, whilst it is hypo-allergenic, dust-free, contaminant-free, extraordinarily durable and non-toxic. The material has a tremendous form memory, and elasticity, with the ability to sustain weights of up to 140 kilograms repeatedly and still bounce back to shape. With its unique visual form and noodley structure created via an extrusion of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), it has advantages reserved for both rubbery and plastic materials.

 

 

 

 

Air Noodles are used in the bedding industry due to there durability, resilience, elasticity, and form memory, though we imagine them in all manner of set-design, window backdrops, and POS applications due to there fantastically unusual form and qualities. The hand is soft and non-sticky making them also ideal for packaging or innovative, luxury soft furnishings.

 

 

Contact us to make an appointment to see our labyrinthine Air Noodles in all their noodly glory!