Ligne Roset is bringing original, powerful ideas back to life through its ongoing relationship with the late designer Pierre Paulin's son and wife.
The French furniture manufacturer's relationship with Pierre Paulin began back in 2008 with the reissue of his Pumpkin seating collection, from the private collection of former French President Georges Pompidou, for Ligne Roset. That year he also worked with them on bringing the clean-lined Tanis desk back into production. Paulin passed away in 2009 and since then the family-run organization Paulin, Paulin, Paulin has worked with Ligne Roset to preserve and disseminate the works of the French design master.
Now, 10 years after his first collaboration with Ligne Roset, they are introducing three reissued Paulin designs for 2018: Bonnie, Gavrinis 3, and CM 131.
Bonnie, originally dreamt up by Paulin in 1975, is a cocoon-like sculptural seat made of foam and available in 2 upholstery styles. True to the original design is the 'pleated' version which will be available in a variety of wools and nubuck leather, over 150 color and style options all together - which will look and feel exactly as they would have in the 70s with some fabric bunching in the corners. The second version is a 'plain' reinterpretation of the original design by way of flat, stretched upholstery using only select stretch jersey fabric (a wool-poly-nylon blend), in 12 color options for an overall smooth finish (no bunching).
Ligne Roset was able to work on the reissue of Bonnie using one of the only originals in existence - a real collector's item. From the outset, it was striking in terms of its comfort, both visual and real, hugging the lines of the human body fiercely. Paulin wanted to be a sculptor at 22, when he was an apprentice stonemason in Beaune (1949) following in the footsteps of his great-uncle Fredy Balthazar Stoll. This training relates to design in that the more Paulin took away, the more he removed, the more he went to the very heart of things. He treated Bonnie, for example, like a single volume placed upon the ground, the legs have disappeared and become an almost invisible base: this is no longer a piece of furniture, it is a sculpture.
First designed by Pierre Paulin in 1953 and newly reissued by Ligne Roset for 2018, CM 131 is an ergonomic chair before people talked about ergonomics. CM 131's molded beech seat and unparalleled comfort were achieved with techniques borrowed from the aeronautical industry and perfected by German manufacturer Pogholz, who today makes the molded wood shells for the Ligne Roset reissue. Using pressure and heat, Paulin's design was achieved in beech with never-before-seen precision. A testament to quality and comfort, CM 131 is durable and innovative without losing design integrity.
Gavrinis 3 is based on Pierre Paulin's original sketches from the caves of Gavrinis island in France. This rug brings personality to spaces with its irregular, fluid shape and surface of contoured, almost topographical, curves achieved by subtle sculpting of the wool to different heights. Gavrinis 3 is available in Beige Lin, Mustard, and Grey Blue.
Photos: Courtesy of Ligne Roset