Young French brand, La Chance, presented its new collection of furniture and accessories at Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche in Paris last week. The exhibition began on the 4th of June and continues through until the 15th of June.
The 'Pli' bowls by Beaverhausen for La Chance. Three sizes in polished metal with three different marbles.
Founded by Jean-Baptiste Souletie and Louise Breguet in 2012, the brand has slowly developed its original small collection of 12 items into a full catalogue with over 30 items. This year they added 10 new pieces including their first chair. Having shown at big fairs like Milan and Maison & Objet in past years, it was a surprising move for the brand to launch it's new collection between fairs at Le Bon Mache. Souletie however has always tried to keep the brand grounded and not reliant on unsustainable growth or large marketing budgets, allowing the unique designs to speak for themselves and the brand grow organically.
The 'Cymbal' pendant light- the first product to come from La Chance's in house design team.
While to date they have used an interesting selection of up-and-coming designers such as Dan Yeffet & Lucie Koldova along with a few bigger names like Luca Nichetto and Noé Duchafour Lawrance, this year La Chance delivered their first in-house designed product, the 'Cymbal' pendant light while introducing new names to the label such as Sacha Walckhoff. Made up of two fine discs of metal, the 'Cymbal' pendant light is highly contemporary while retaining a strong reference to famous Scandinavian designs of the past.
The 'X-ray' sofa by Alain Gilles for La Chance. Available in fabric or leather with contrast or matching frame.
Alain Gilles is well known for his contemporary design work for brands such as Bonaldo, Buzzispace and Casamania. In his 'X-ray' sofa for La Chance he has made a feature of the support mechanism and framing but the addition of an eveloping timber arm and backrest keeps the look a little organic and tactile.
Front view of the two-seater variant of the 'X-ray' sofa by Alain Gilles.
Available in two, three and four seater versions in fabric and leather, the sofa can be quite restrained with colour-matched frames or loud and proud with a frame made up of multiple colours. The 'JER1' and 'JER2' cushions shown above are in fabrics created from objects designed by Jacques Emile Ruhlmann in 1911 (etched crystal glasses) and 1921 (a rug).
The 'Mewoma' table by American designer Jonah Takagi. The name comes from MEtal, WOod & MArble.
Washington D.C based designer, Jonah Takagi has come to international attention through his lighting designs for Roll and Hill and his interest in cage like forms can be seen in the 'Mewoma' table for La Chance. The laser cut metal blades of the base give way to a cylinder of timber then a disc of sheet steel which supports a larger top in marble. The result is an interesting combination of lightness and weight. Originally designed asa limited edition gallery piece in a smaller size, it has been upscaled for the La Chance release and is now available in either 120 or 150cm diameter sizes.
The 'Rōnin' chair by Frederick Werner and Emil Lagoni Valbak. The chair on the left has a marble back rest.
The 'Rōnin' chair can be specified with a shaped marble back rest.
Inspired by Japanese construction methods and based on Danish traditions in craftsmanship, the original Rōnin chair was developed as a graduating project from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Designed by Frederik Werner with assistance from Emil Lagoni Valbak, the chair was shown as part of the the Kadktype exhibition at Ventura Lambrate in 2013 but has been developed for the La Chance collection in a new form that features a sculptured marble back rest.
The backrest draws a subtle reference to the helmet of the samurai and the arch of the samurai sword - hence it's name. While the chair comes with an exotic background story it was also designed as a contemporary response to the traditional stick chair, so construction methods are suitably simple. The chair's strength comes from interlocking batons of timber.
Note Design Studio's 'Zorro' coffee table in layered marble and glass on a chrome frame. Also just with glass tops and on a blue coloured coloured metal frame.
Sweden's Note Design Studio are one of the hottest young design studios around at the moment. The y have again worked their magic on the 'Zorro' coffee table for La Chance, creating a subtle two-tier table that balances a fine metal base and large discs of marble and glass. Almost Nendoesque in style the table is available in several forms including a version with blue tinted glass and blue power coated metal frame.
The 'Tapigris' rug is available in three colour ways - blue, purple and grey. Presumably designed by Nathalie du Pasquier who has designed fro the label in the past (no designer details at present).
Like the label's previous rugs 'Anenome' and 'France', 'Tapis Gris' is a powerful design - particularly when executed in colour. Here the grey version keeps the interplay of geometric pattern to a more restrained level.
The 'Pli' bowls by Beaverhausen. Designed as entrance bowls for dropping off coins and keys.
Beaverhausen are a Belgian design studio who work across accessories and furniture. Their 'Pli' bowls in mirror polished metal or matt black use three different marble colours to create a delicate table composition. The name 'Pli' means fold. This reflects the fact that each marble base is carved in a particular way to make a convex or concave surface or in the case of the largest bowl, a dividing ridge.
Originally designed in 1928 the 'Lalou' mirror comes in walnut or black stained oak.
Iconic French designer Jacques Emile Ruhlmann originally designed the 'Lalou' table mirror in 1928 for the owner of a champagne house. La Chance have reissued the piece this year - nearly 90 years later - in walnut or black stained oak. The design comprises just three parts and is a perfect example of timeless simplicity.
The exploded view of Jacques Emile Ruhlmann's 'Lalou'. A simple disc-shaped mirror with wooden support.
In total contrast to the simplicity of Ruhlmann's mirror, the 'Toy' vases by French designer Guillaume Delvigne, unapologetically embrace complexity.
Delvigne designed the 'Swan' pendant light for La Chance's second collection released in 2013. These new vase forms are monolithic in nature standing 52cm high, but with a delicate appearance. Made from a combination of blown glass and industrial sheet glass, the vases layer colours and lines to create a distorted optical illusion.
A close up of the 'Toy' vase by Guillaume Delvigne showing the multiple layers of colour and translucency.
Fashion designer and creative director of Christian Lacroix, Sacha Walckhoff, has contributed the 'One-two' tray table to the new collection. This humble drinks table can be inverted to become a breakfast in bed tray or small side table. Available in walnut with dark orange frame or stained black with a white tubular steel frame.
'X-ray' sofa, 'Zorro' coffee table, 'One two' tray table, 'Toy' vase and the 'Tapis Gris' rug at Le Bon Marché.
The gallery below shows a small selection of some of their earlier products - all from the h2012 collection with the exception of Guillaume Delvigne's 'Swan' pendant from 2013 (top left).
For more on La Chance go to their website here, or their Facebook page here.