Manufacture Pleyel

Striking a new chord

The Manufacture Pleyel has been making connoisseur pianos since 1807—one of its earliest clients was Frédéric Chopin. Later such famous Art Nouveau and Art Deco designers as Jacques Majorelle and Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann were brought in to design frames; more recently the company has collaborated with contemporary designers including Andrée Putman. Now Pleyel has decided to exploit its state-of-the-art savoir-faire in woodworking, lacquer and veneer craftsmanship by launching a contemporary furniture collection. American-in-Paris decorator Hilton McConnico was one of the first to step up to the challenge, designing a Pleyel sofa and armchair finished in bands of matte and brilliant lacquer, also available in birch plywood and varnished Makassar ebony. The rounded backs of the sofa and chair echo a piano’s curves, and comfort is assured by cushions covered in leather, velvet or silk taffeta. Paris-based designer Alice Etcaetera’s Harmonie et Contraste oval dining and coffee tables are made of solid, smoothly rounded or oval natural olive ash with a contrasting black lacquer central strip and curved black lacquer supports. Her wavy Art Deco-style folding screen features a central panel of brilliant black lacquer between two panels of olive ash. Hotel architect and designer Philippe Maidenberg’s line of Wonderful Archie medium-high stools has a suitably musical inspiration, derived from the stage stool he invented for saxophonist Archie Shepp. Produced in a 99-piece limited edition, it comes in mahogany or birch plywood with solid beech legs in a choice of colors and finishes.

www.pleyel.fr

Originally published in the January 2012 issue of France Today