Philippe Malouin’s 20 Planters
Canadian-born designer Philippe Malouin has reunited with Caesarstone at Milan’s infamous design show, Salone del Mobile, to showcase 20 Planters, an aptly named collection of planters made from vintage Caesarstone surfaces. The project is one half of the two-part installation called Movements—the other half being his project Swings, which debuted earlier this year at Toronto’s Interior Design Show. Malouin and his team found the historic pieces in Toulouse, France. “Suddenly we had retro-style colours like dusty pinks, mint greens, and cobalt blues that we mixed with Caesarstone’s current collection,” Malouin says. The discovered surfaces, some of which had not been used in 20 years, underwent industrial refurbishing techniques such as polishing, sculpting, and inlaying. This experimentation of techniques falls in line with Malouin’s “design by making” philosophy, a notion he hopes will inspire viewers to be more adventurous in designing their home spaces. “If you plan to buy a new countertop there is nothing stopping you from mixing colours,” Malouin says, “maybe making [the] island in one colour and the sink in another.” Or at the very least, perhaps his perspective will inspire some to seek out unique vessels for potted plants.
