Material ConneXion’s Design Strategist hit the ground running at Maison & Objet and Paris Design Week, which took place from September 8-12 at Paris Nord Villepinte.

This year’s theme was “Comfort Zone,” and the exhibitions, inspirational spaces, conference space, and even the bookstore and café appropriated both the idea of going outside of one’s comfort zone in order to create, and also of creating a comfortable place in which to live and achieve calm and peace of mind. As always, beauty and creativity abound, and exciting, cutting-edge materials were utilized in unexpected ways to achieve aesthetic and functional results. Material ConneXion has rounded up five of our favorites here:

1. Anne Donze and Vincent Chagnon, of Collectif Dare d’Art, displayed their glasswork at EMPREINTES Paris’ concept store.

2. Tzuri Gueta forces silicone through various fabrics, creating an incredible texture and effect.

3. “Diamond Shadow,” a dynamic installation of lighting materials centered around the sub-theme of ‘Invisible’ by Akari-Lisa Ishil and Motoko Ishil.

4. REGENBOGEN, from Fundamental Berlin, is a handmade heavy lead crystal with a chromatic film.

5. Mercadier Decoration created a coating incorporating metallic powders to imbue objects with a stunning patina.

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