Mish Mash

Many great ideas have been born from the result of two or more minds colliding; collaboration is an essential part of any design process. I’ve always had the fantasy of bringing together some of my favorite designers, dead or alive and giving them a design brief to see what would come of it.

In the meantime, I wanted to play around and merge different ideas and products that have struck me as influential or crucial in my education. Inspired by mash-ups (compositions created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs), Mish mash is the result of the combination of two designs: Nelson’s “marshmallow” sofa and Castiglioni’s “sella” stool.

There are  two aspects in this operation. On one hand, there is the intellectual property issue in which I position myself as a “remixer” of two different products, and on the other, the delicate subject of how ideas are often borrowed or stolen. Through my research, I came to discover that another designer was behind the concept of the marshmallow sofa – Irving Harper. Like in many design studios, junior designers do take part in the conception phase and at times find the real solution or the right answer. Somehow, this is what happened in George Nelson’s studio.

There is a similar story related to the famous ball clock that involves Nelson, Isamu Noguchi, Irving Harper,Bucky Fuller, some whisky and a dinner party, but that’s for next time.

Mishmash is more of a functional sculpture than a comfortable sofa. My goal was to study and apply basic principals through a classic exercise, and of course, to pay tribute to some of the greatests.

Collaborator : Selle Royal