Studio Samuel Tomatis

Studio Samuel Tomatis
Design
Research
About
Crafting
2019-22

Designed to replace leather and plastic, these flexible materials can be used in both craft and industry. After several years of formulation in the laboratory, we were able to scale these materials up to the size of objects and, from then on, begin the design and shaping stage.

With Anaïs Jarnoux, we created a series of experiments and assemblies to adapt upholstery, leather-working and saddlery techniques to the materials. The different types of flexible materials, through their thickness, colour, particle size and dimensions, made it possible to design objects ranging from furnishings to luxury leather goods.

With their colours, opalescence, surface finishes and textures, seaweeds offer an infinite aesthetic palette.
Offcuts can be kept, either to be melted down again to create new materials, or to be returned to nature, where they will serve as fertiliser and food for insects. This project is fully part of a radical ecological approach. Everything is reusable, fully biodegradable, and ultimately returns to the earth.

Materials Green, red and brown seaweed
Origin Brittany
Award Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Intelligence of the Hand - Dialogues 2022
Number of pieces 85
Production Agora grant
Assistant Niels Nijman, Jérôme Calvarin
Collaborators INRAE, Anaïs Jarnoux
Images Marin Avram, Matthieu Barani, Matthieu Torres, Ambroise Tézenas, studio Samuel Tomatis
A
Ulva

B
MS.21 - Stitching detail

C
MS.69

D
Quilting detail

E
MS.84 - Detail

F
MS.56

G
Laboratory

H
Research and development

I
Raw material

J
Sheets of flexible materials

K
MS.77

L
MS.18 - Topstitching detail

M
Raw material

N
Samples

O
Opalescence

P
Production

Q
MS.50

R
Dulse

S
MS.30 - Assembly detail

T
MS.84 - Texture detail

U
Laboratory

V
MS.22 - Piping detail

W
MS.82 - Quilting detail

X
MS.82 - Quilting detail

Y
MS.69

Z
MS.53 - Detail

AA
MS.15 - Assembly detail

AB
MS.63 - Detail

AC
MS.28 - Imprint detail

AD
MS.63 - Opalescence detail

AE
MS.42 - Opalescence detail

AF
Kelp

AG
Crafting

AH
MS.84

AI
Overview

AJ
Brittany

AK
Samples