merci concept store in paris: stack it exhibition

entrance of merci paris image © designboom

concept store ‘merci‘ in paris, is a mandatory stop for any designer when visiting the metropolitan city of lights. always packed and full of patrons and design enthusiasts alike, it has become the parisian ‘go-to’ destination for particular products from international creatives. the store’s layout and display is changing continuously, almost week to week, resulting in a quick turn over of products, featuring new, but also objects from merci’s basic collection. the idea to change the merchandise so frequently is to present the designs in new contexts, showing the diversity of merci’s product line and the various means in which items can be used. the design section of the store is curated by jean-luc colonna d’istria and daniel rozensztroch.

material experiences –  showcasing the talent of the designers to transform the daily objects into a game of volumes, textures and innovations that match the needs for space saving and today’s lifestyle image © designboom

because of its heavy international traffic, during the maison et objet fair, designboom made an appointment to drop by the store shortly after closing in order to photograph the space, and to visit the current exhibition ‘stack it’. on show are products by designers from around the world, chosen based on their relevance as space saving and organizational solutions for the domestic or office environment, particularly by means of stacking.

storage units that house ubiquitous plastic crates by marc van der gronden for lensvelt, general view of the installation and detail of the storage drawers made of plastic crates images © designboom

‘krattenkast’ storage units by dutch designer marc van der gronden: various colorful crates, made of recycled plastic, slot neatly into metal frame sideboard structure. the development of the collection analyzed the product life cycle – from the materials used to the manufacturing process and the furniture’s use as fruit or vegetable containers to its possibility to be reused at home, in order to minimize the environmental and social impact, and the waste of raw materials and energy.

the light installation uses industrial drop lights image © designboom

industrial drop lights image © designboom

folding stools, in use at TATE museum in london image © designboom

steam tower images © designboom

steam tower by designer christian bjørn in collaboration with cook morten køster and produced by menu makes healthy cooking easier. the steamer combines the asian way to steam with cooking in the classic römertoph. the perforated stacking bowls are made in porcelain and represent all the qualities of the traditional asian steamer – but with a cleaner and easy-to-use design.

steam tower images © designboom

all-round bowls image © designboom

beautiful japanese household items: the all-round bowls (produced by cherry terrace). a 10-piece bowl, colander and strainer set – requiring minimal storage space.

all-round bowls

rich in history and pride, where several generations of frenchmen learned the process of glass-making, the french duralex company, located in orleans, invented the glass tempering process in 1939. the classic tableware made of gigogne duralex – pressed glass – is suitable for cold and hot food, and is microwave and dishwasher-safe. stackable for efficient storage, and is also chip resistant. the set of 11 bowls featured here has a cost of only 30 euro.

11 bowls fit neatly one into the other image © designboom

the duralex picardie or bistrot glass is another object whose form gives the impression it was discovered rather than designed. it is the ultimate drinking vessel and of its type cannot be improved. created in around 1927, the design rejected the machine age forms favored in european arts in the 1920s and adopted fluted sides in vague reminiscence of the faceted tulip shapes typical of 18th century french crystal.

curator jean-luc colonna d’istria shows us a few of his favorite pieces: the duralex pressed glass carafe with glasses that stack on it and the tea-for-one stacking teapot image © designboom

these tea-for-one teapots by forlife come complete with an extra-fine 0.3 mm stainless-steel tea infuser and permanently attached hinged lid for easy use. the extra-fine infuser enables you to steep fine loose-leaf teas such as rooibos tea to large whole-leaf teas like oolong tea (this teapot obviously is also great for use of tea bags). the stackable design allows to save storage spaces especially for food-service market such as tea rooms, cafes, bars and restaurants. forlife is a company founded by japanese ceramic designer masa fujii, and is based in los angeles.

teacup and teapot stacked, produced by forlife image © designboom

early 20th century metal bathroom cabinets, stacked as wall installation. especially created for mercy, price upon request image © designboom

curator jean-luc colonna d’istria demonstrates the one-of-a-kind cupboard that integrates vintage objects from the office- and travel world. created especially created for mercy, price upon request images © designboom

crates stacked in a fiat 500 in the courtyard image © designboom

stack-it at mercy, the courtyard images © designboom