Rising Talents is one of the most inspiring initiatives of the Parisian fair, which for its 30th anniversary chooses to mix up the underlying formula, no longer focusing on one country at a time but rather investigating the best talents tackling a specific theme. For the January 2024 edition of Maison & Objet, that theme is Tech and Savoir Faire, and among its stars we find French designer Emma Cogné, selected by interior designer Lionel Jadot.

Interested in the re-evaluation and transformation of used materials to highlight their intrinsic value, Cogné has woven together a sequence of corrugated plastic pipes (the kind normally used to protect electrical cables in our homes) recovered from the streets, construction sites and factories.

In this way invisible elements hidden in walls and floors can find new destinations in interiors, finding an ornamental dimension. “By weaving recycled pipes that I cut to make beads,” she explains, “I chose an elementary material and a process that requires no machine, or even a loom. It’s a reversed technological process because I only work with mass-produced materials, offering them another narrative.”