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17/07/2007
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Airdiem reinvents the art of the smoking lounge
Eric Gormand and his wife Emmanuelle, co-founders of Airdiem, are revisiting the art of travel. During a trip to the United Arab Emirates, this military school graduate and former military helicopter pilot discovered “the elegant, succulent and convivial gesture of the hookah”. Alas!
The market no longer has refined objects like the hookahs Baccarat was still producing in the 19th century. The forty-something businessman, who switched careers after receiving MBAs in the U.S. and at France’s Hautes Etudes Commerciales, decided to “break with the classic image of the hookah and its status as a luxury item.” He called on the know-how of Nedda El Asmar, a Palestinian-born designer who has created tableware for Hermès and Puiforcat. This exceptional piece, with its timelessly elegant lines and cutting-edge yet discreet technology, did not go unnoticed, including at the Saint-Etienne Design Biennial. Airdiem’s founder has continued down this exceptional path by asking Hilton McConnico to make his version of a hookah, which we will discover in September. Other designers, such as Tous les Trois, Régis Dho, and Jean Boggio, have been approached. Already sold in the gift stores at the Crillon and the Carlton, Airdiem fully expects to win over the world of luxury hotels. The brand is expanding its offer with perfumed mixtures overseen by “nose” Michelle Gay. Eric Gormand has many projects in store in his first-class traveler’s trunks, such as reinventing a new cigarette-holder with jeweled ends that can be worn as charms, along with limited edition armchairs upholstered with haute couture fabrics. He is also approaching famous chefs to create desserts and candies that revisit the Turkish delight. “Why not create an overarching world?” the entrepreneur suggests.
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(Fonte de informação: Maison Objet Presse)
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