Eye for Design – Dorian Etienne
- Tell us about yourself?
I’m Dorian Etienne, a 23 years old french designer based in Paris. I come from Belle-île-en-mer in Brittany. I love to travel, to discover new cultures, new ways of thinking or seeing the world, to take photographs, linger over detail, and change my point of view.
- Have you always been interested in art and design, or did you discover it later in life?
I always had an artistic eye, even when I was very young I liked to create objects and sculptures. But after a scientific baccalaureate, I still went through the first year of medicine before realizing that the world of design existed. So I continued my studies in product design at Boulle School in Paris. After graduation, I did a six-month residency at the National Taiwan Craft Research Institute (N.T.C.R.I.) to open myself to the crafts world. There I developed my craft skills to deepen my designer expertise and I created many projects. When I came back from this great experience in 2019, I launched my Parisian design studio.
- What/who inspires your work?
I am inspired by many things and the ideas come from everywhere, I just try to be attentive enough and to sort it out: people I meet, materials I try to understand in a different way, details on my way in the street, existing objects, global issues and of course nature which are an inexhaustible source of innovation and inspiration.
- Who is your favourite designer? (living or dead)
It is really difficult to choose only one favourite designer, I would say three: Studio Swine, Charlotte Perriand and Mathieu Lehanneur.
- Tell us about Nuclée:
Settled in Hualien, on the east coast of Taiwan, the Kavalan Aboriginal Tribe is expert in the use of banana fibre. I had the chance to exchange and work with them, observing their way of life, culture and techniques. The banana flesh, big waste from this traditional extraction, turns out to be interesting for its translucency and its graphic qualities. By a particular technique (drying, refining, stabilization), the solidity of this plant tissue is increased. Finally exploitable, this material is sublimated by a sober shape, inspired by the internal structure of the banana tree stem.
- Tell us about The Bones Collection:
Bamboo is an exceptional material which offers a remarkable variety of shapes and uses. Moreover, its internal structure reveals original natural patterns between nodes. This collection wishes to honour these hidden curves.
- Tell us about Lukang, loofah eco-chair:
Traditionally used in Taiwan as exfoliating sponges, the loofah comes from the inside of some squash. Harvested without damaging the ground, these natural fibres leave few roots and reproduce quickly. This culture guarantees a low ecological impact.
Pressed loofah fibres interweave to form a single frame without any glue addition. This process allows obtaining a new very resistant material of infinite length and thickness. It also fits comfortably the shape it receives. Designed on an eco-responsible principle, the seat is fixed on the aluminium structure with leather ties, reversible and lifetime warranty. When the ply loofah seat is damaged, after several years of use, the user can easily remove it and send it to the factory. The fibres are easily separated by water bath and are repressed in a new seat returned to the client.
- What does all of your work have in common?
My work most often combines design and craftsmanship. I like to register in a territory to observe and understand culture and techniques and draw my inspiration from it. These culture mixes offer new points of view on things which are omnipresent so almost « invisible » for the people living there.
Experimentation is also my creative medium. Indeed, the new characteristics of a material are like a library of ideas; its limits let me see new uses. From design to realization, my approach is respectful of the environment.
- Who is an artist/designer you would love to collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate with my favourite designers of the moment like Studio Swine or Mathieu Lehanneur and with some well-known brands of design or crafts like Hermès, Alessi or SkLO.
- Where do you see yourself ideally in five years
In five years I would like to have enough edited projects and visibility to go and design around the world by train or bike (without big ecological impact): stop in a country, discover it for several months and develop some projects with craftsmen or local brands, go to another city or a close country to continue my Journey, fill my eyes and my head, exchange with new people and leave a trace by my objects.
Website: https://www.dorian-etienne.com/