The renowed Emilian company Paolo Castelli, during the last Maison Object, presented GREENKISS: an ethical collection, the result of the creativity of designers Hubert de Malherbe and Thierry Lemaire and the savoir-faire of founder Paolo Castelli.
30 eco-responsible products, which not only express the importance of the functional and aesthetic aspects of the furnishings, but also underline the value and fascination of how ethical design should become the driving force behind a renewed positive and empathetic sense of the “resource” environment.
We met Hubert de Malherbe e Paolo Castelli to find out more about how this magnificent collaboration was born.
Hubert de Malherbe tells: We first met at the realization of La Samaritaine in Paris, because I was designing for La Samaritaine and Paolo Castelli Company was doing the construction. From the very beginning, when I met Paolo, I had the feeling that was happening an“encontre” – those special occasions that rarely happen in life – so we decided to make a project together. Paolo Castelli invited me and my friend Thierry Lemaire in Pantelleria, where he was on holiday. On the first day we had a dinner together in this fantastic environment surrounded by friends and family. We just sat down and said “Ok, let’s do something together for Maison Object”.
This collaboration, born therefore in the most natural way possible, led to the birth of the first eco-designed collection, really nature-loving, that has ever been presented at Maison Object.
Paolo Castelli – about the creation of the collection – says: Sometimes life gives you some chances you were not expecting: in few seconds I found two super new friends and at the same time I had the opportunity to learn from two very important designers. The most Important thing I learnt from this experience is when Huber explained us how we can protect the world for the future.
We started working with 6 hands and 3 brains and I put the Company at complete disposal of GREENKISS. I was surprised to see how our suppliers where working with us with so much passion. So this created a great and big team – from Corsica to Bologna – and with all our suppliers from all overItaly, to create all these 20 products in just 1 month.
De Malherbe continues: Very quickly we began to draw the collection and we decided to focus on Eco-Design, doing something good for the environment. As the Company has been working for a long time on conception and sourcing with an ecological vision, we realised that the most important thing for us, was to make people feel comfortable with this green vision too. Every year we want to improve the proportion of Eco- Design in this collection. We wanted an elegant range and wanted to be sure it was an Eco conception. So, we can say, that GREENKISS is a cool, funky, positive way to say “we are making an effort for the planet”.
Paolo Castelli underlines: Another important thing that Hubert teached me is that it is very important to create in a green way, but is even more important to give it the possibility to be recycled. It’s very important for me to see how people is happy to have, in their houses, furnitures which respect the environment and the best things is that all the pieces of the whole collection are Eco designed. This is the first time that an entire range is totally Green. We absolutely don’t use plastic or materials that can’t be reused.
A collection so green that even the catalogue has not been printed, but can be viewed anywhere and easily from all devices, at the following link.
The quality of the materials, which are all either regenerated, recouped or ethically produced under strictly controlled conditions, is enhanced by geometric styling, graphic details and asymmetrical proportions in an ironic and creative cut and thrust exchange between art and interior design.
In this regard De Malherbe states: We were glad to see how people appreciate the fact it was super edgy, elegant, very soft and feminine, they also admired the curves the arches.
The collection comprises tables, armchairs, seats and light fittings, and reflects the finest Italian and French design of the Fifties and Seventies.
Hubert De Malherbe concludes: This project was a creative experience. Most of the times Designers work alone and don’t share that much. Creation is something extremely positive, it’s a personal expression, of course, but what I found wonderful is the way that creativity brings people together and let them becoming friends. This this is something very positive having creative people from very different worlds working together.
For further information please visit www.paolocastelli.com.
