Rising Duos
Half of the studios honoured in Maison&Objet’s September 2025 Rising Talents Awards are duos, including Studio Œ, who designed this tipsy rendition of a traditional Römer wineglass (image: Studio Œ).
“We believe the future of design lies more in collective, collaborative approaches than in the traditional auteur model,” say Lenn Heilig (né Gerlach) and Kyra Heilig, co-founders of design studio Gerlach & Heilig. “Funnily enough, this shift is also reflected in Maison&Objet.”
Gerlach & Heilig are one of seven emerging studios featured in the Rising Talents Awards, an annual platform hosted as part of Paris’s Maison&Objet trade fair that celebrates new voices within design. This year, half of the studios honoured in the September 2025 edition of the programme are duos, a move which serendipitously matches the collaborative spirit of Hall Haus, the French design collective chosen by Maison&Objet to curate the wider Design District area of the fair within which the awards are located. “The Design District, as an incubator of creative energies, will play a crucial role in highlighting the young guard and the trends of tomorrow,” the collective said earlier this year.
Gerlach & Heilig designed furniture with traditional woodworking techniques that avoid the use of glue or screws (image: Gerlach & Heilig).
Every edition of the Awards selects studios from a single country, and this year’s designers are representing Germany, a nation whose design legacy is grounded in the country’s history of precision manufacturing and industry, as well as avant-garde design schools such as the Bauhaus and the Ulm School of Design. Many of the studios selected for the awards produce work that fits within this legacy, with spatial and product designer Marie Luise Stein and industrial designer Moritz Walter honoured for subtle and approachable designs that adapt to different spatial conditions. Another designer, Friedrich Gerlach, has reinterpreted Germany’s history of design innovation and state-of-the-art manufacturing for a contemporary audience, creating products shaped by processes such as bacterial growth and 3D printing. The majority of the studios selected, however, present work that is deeply embedded in the country’s landscapes, from Gabriel Tarmassi’s sculptural objects made from locally sourced wood, to design duo Haus Otto’s collaborative project FARM, which explores natural cycles and sustainable materials and resources through a residency based near Lake Constance.
Ahead of the exhibition’s opening on 4 September, Disegno spoke with two of the selected duos, Gerlach & Heilig and Studio Œ, whose work engages with Germany’s cultural history and craftsmanship traditions. Both studios, for instance, have reinterpreted ancient glassware from the Black Forest, with Gerlach & Heilig creating misty vessels that reference early champagne bottles, and Studio Œ designing tipsy green-stemmed goblets that recall traditional Römer wineglasses. Much of Gerlach & Heilig’s work is focused on reviving craft traditions, such as furniture designed using traditional woodworking techniques or sculptural pieces made from rocks mined in Germany’s Swabian Jura mountain range. “Our work draws inspiration from pre-industrial craft, forgotten or ‘lost’ ways of thinking about materials and making, and regional narratives,” they explain. Studio Œ, meanwhile, aim to evoke the character and history of a place, through pieces such as a chair that references Agrippina the Younger, who is considered to be the founder of the Roman city of Cologne. Inspired by marble statues of Agrippina seated on a throne, the chair is made from an industrially manufactured mineral that mimics the appearance of marble, hinting at the potentially unreliable narratives spread about her by male historians. “What connects [our work] is a shared curiosity and a commitment to form, material, and dialogue,” they say.
Gerlach & Heilig’s misty vessels reference ancient glassware from the Black Forest, including early champagne bottles (image: Gerlach & Heilig).
While the Rising Talent Awards explore the design legacy of a particular nation, part of its mission is to complicate the idea of straightforward national lineage and instead celebrate the diversity that exists within any country’s design community – something that both Gerlach & Heilig and Studio Œ play into. “We don’t see design as something that should be narrowed down to national labels; the world has become too interconnected and complex for that,” Gerlach and Heilig explain. Both studios mention the Bauhaus as the first reference that comes to mind when speaking about German design, but explain that the idea of a national design identity is a label that neither sees as straightforwardly relating to their work. “What is sometimes overlooked is that Bauhaus was not simply a style or a production site – it was, above all, a school,” say Anne-Sophie Oberkrome and Lisa Ertel, cofounders of Studio Œ. The pair studied at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design under teachers that included fashion design studio Bless, industrial designer Stefan Diez, and experimental designer Volker Albus – diverse perspectives which emboldened them to create work outside the realm of traditional product design. Meanwhile, Gerlach & Heilig cite designers who value material experimentation, such as Johanna Seelemann, Formafantasma and Faye Toogood, as inspirations. “Just as much as the Bauhaus was pushing the boundaries of what design meant back then, we’re most inspired by designers who push against conventions,” they say.
Studio Œ’s playful interpretations of traditional Römer wineglasses were made as part of an exhibition for the FAN Collective, a group the pair co-founded with likeminded designers to create opportunities for themselves after graduation (image: Studio Œ).
Like many of the emerging designers supported by the Rising Talent programme, Oberkrome and Ertel say that they initially struggled after graduation, as there were few opportunities for young designers to platform their work. “We are truly impressed by how well the Rising Talent platform is organised and by the values it conveys,” they say. “The support is refreshing, and not something to be taken for granted.” At the start of their careers, for instance, they found it difficult to secure commissions, particularly with influential brands. “Many companies collaborate with a small, established and predominantly male circle,” they explain. Instead of waiting for opportunities, however, the pair created their own. After founding the FAN collective and putting on group exhibitions with likeminded designers, they later joined Haus Otto’s collaborative project FARM. “We are sure this independent path has opened doors, allowing us today to collaborate with brands such as Mattiazzi,” the pair explain. The two pieces Studio Œ have made for Mattiazzi – a console with a smooth wooden surface that curves into a dimple where the legs meet the tabletop, and a barstool with a handle that resembles a short tail – will both be exhibited at the fair.
Studio Œ’s DOPO stool made for Mattiazzi (image: Studio Œ).
Meanwhile, Gerlach & Heilig, whose work lies within the realm of collectible design, have found it difficult to find collaborators, galleries and producers who will work with them beyond one-off projects. “For us, the starting point isn’t about trends or market demands; it’s about deep research and understanding the complexity that lives within its subject,” they explain. “Our work is driven by curiosity: uncovering lost techniques, historic narratives, or overlooked processes, and connecting the dots in ways that have not been done before.” Their approach has been recognised with a 2022 Ein & Zwanzig award in Traditional Heritage Furniture, and their stool, mirror and trays made out of hammered metal are currently sold through Good Sessions Gallery, but the pair are seeking to build more long-term relationships. “Platforms like the Rising Talent Awards are incredibly important,” they say, adding that it is especially helpful to have a space to display the material and conceptual processes that underpin their work.“Opportunities that provide a dedicated space to showcase both research and philosophy are rare.”
Gerlach & Heilig’s Hammered Scapes collection was made by moving a compressed air hammering gun over sheet metal (image: Gerlach & Heilig).
Both studios are excited by the opportunity to accelerate their practices by connecting with brands, collectors, galleries and manufacturers at Maison&Objet. “Emerging designers often face challenges not just in funding but in gaining visibility and trust within the broader design community,” Gerlach and Heilig explain. “Opportunities like this are rare,” Studio Œ add, “and we believe they should exist more often to give emerging practices the space and visibility they need.” By providing emerging designers with a space to engage in conversations about the multilayered stories behind their work, the Rising Talents Awards is helping to expand the idea of what a commercially successful design practice can look like. “We aim to offer a holistic perspective that is showcasing the broad possibilities of what design can also be,” Gerlach & Heilig conclude.
This article was made for Maison&Objet.