Hanger chair

“Occasional furniture”. The name should be self explanatory, but it is somewhat incorrect in most cases. These pieces tend to lie around the house, stacked in a corner, or in an unused room. When space is an issue, as is the case for most European city dwellers, an object such as a folding chair will clutter up the precious available space.

The Hanger Chair is a folding chair based on one of the ultimate storage systems: the modest hanger. It allows us to store clothes in an orderly fashion. Most houses or flats are equipped with a wardrobe to receive the object.

By morphing the function of the hanger with that of the folding chair, a new hybrid is born: a Hanger Chair that has a function, even when not in use, to store our clothes in an orderly fashion.

the grace table

Grand furniture pieces are marvelous, although rather tricky to transport. handle or store. I admire the capacity of inflatable furniture to decrease its size to modest volumes. Inflatable furniture has many disadvantages such as stability, rigidity, the control of its shape etc. Inflatable chairs and couches have been around for a long time. I am trying to move toward this concept from a different approach: inflatable tables do not exist because of the limitations of inflatable furniture, starting with the fact that flat surfaces are difficult to achieve.

I have worked in collaboration with Eurocraft, a leading manufacturer of inflatable structures in the United Kingdom. And developed a grand table, big enough to accommodate 10 guests when inflated, and small enough to fit in a duffel bag when deflated.


Both of these projects, along with the ballpoint stool and the dervish ceiling fan will be featured with Design Academy Eindhoven’s exhibition : STILL at Spazio Rossanna Orlandi in Milan during the “Salone del Mobile”.

Describe yourself in five words.
Happy, Lucky, Workaholic, Restless, Crazy.
If you could be a different nationality, what would it be?
I think I would be Scandinavian (no nationality in particular). Designers from these countries seem to have such an amazing innate capacity to create flawless form and simplicity that very few international designers can aspire to.
What’s your favourite movie?
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a great movie, I can’t say that it’s my favorite for sure but it’s the first one that comes to mind. The styling in this movie is amazing, so is Audrey Hepburn.
What kind of music you like to listen?
Anything but American Country music. I tend to listen to a lot Indie electronic music these days, I very much like the work of James Figurine and Hot Chip.
What is your favourite design material?
Difficult question, I don’t think I can answer it. I always try to use different materials and mix them together. I don’t have one material that tends to me omnipresent throughout my work.
What is the most expensive piece of furniture in your house?
I have been living nowhere and anywhere for the last three years, so I guess that my most expensive piece of furniture is my suitcase, if you can call a suitcase a piece of furniture.
What inspires you?
My Other half, inspires me everyday. The overlooked is always a great concept generator. The banal and the known can always be reinterpreted and reapplied, concepts utilized in fashion, architecture, science or everyday objects seem to drive my work.
You are going for a weekend “somewhere” and you have to invite seven famous people, dead or alive. Where would you go and who would they be?
The Amalfi Coast for the views, the weather and the food. As far as famous guests go, my partner (of course), Tilda Swinton, Hedi Slimane, Pedro Almodóvar, Karen O. (from the yeah yeah yeahs), Tapio Wirkkala, Charles and Ray Eames.
Are you afraid of the future?
Yes and no, I guess it all depends on us and how we decide to treat the earth and each other, the way things are going the future seems unsure.
Describe me the perfect day?
Waking up, having great coffee, and a brunch on a terrace on a warm sunny day. Working on a project I’m proud of. Taking my dog (even though I don’t have one yet) for a walk in the park, hanging out with my other half and my friends. Having interesting conversations, thinking of new design ideas. Seeing something new and inspiring (art, film, music). Going for dinner at Asa Kusa in London. Snuggling up in bed with my partner, passing out.
What does space mean to you?
I think that question 11 and question 12 are connected o each other, space is luxury and luxury is space.
Luxury is?
See question 11.
Design is?
Changing people’s perception of their environment.

Philippe Malouin

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