lon May 9 Christofle launched a new version of his bestseller, mood, an egg-shaped box with silver-plated cutlery, NFT version. In five minutes, the 529 virtual copies were sold for 0.1 ETH (Ether Monetary Unit), or 150 euros each. Proof that if a vast majority of the public is unfamiliar with digital worlds, a niche of informed collectors could well grow in the coming months and years.
NFTs (non-replaceable token, “Non-fungible tokens”, certificates of authenticity associated with virtual goods) are these digital works (photos, videos, 3D objects, etc.) that are purchased and collected online. Their holders can display them on any screen. Another important area of development: using them in a metaverse to decorate your personal space.
Masters in the field
Nemo, a lighting editor, was a pioneer of NFTs. DR
Pioneer of this new wave, Argentinian Andres Reisinger. Formerly a designer, he created phantasmagoric furniture on his computer to manage his frustration at not having access to industrial production tools. Given the success of his creations on Instagram, he got into the NFT movement very early and sold his first collection for around $70,000 (€70,500). Canadian Krista Kim sold her, the very first fully digital home, for $500,000 (504,000 euros)…
closer to us, examples of NFT multiply: Vincent Darré drew a collection of original drawings for Monoprix, the lighting editor Nemo conceived interiors including his iconic lamps, the Galerie Kreo had the duo Barber & Osgerby draw one of his lamps…
A new wave of creators
After exhibiting lamps from Barber & Osgerby, Galerie Kreo launched its NFT collection with a creation by the duo. Alexandra de Cossette
If this phenomenon takes off today, it is no coincidence, but the result of a confluence of several factors. First a generation of videographers, 3D architects, graphic designers… who regularly post their work on Instagram in the hopes that a board will notice them. Now, thanks to NFTs, they can sell their creations directly to their customers who, fed up with video games they’ve been buying since childhood, skin (which allow, for example, to change a character’s appearance) and other paid options, is used to paying real money for virtual goods. Then, contrary to what one might think, publishers and traditional designers have the perfect profile to take an interest in this new aspect of creation.
« The world of luxury is very creative and if you don’t put yourself in danger you won’t get ahead”, recalls Marie Beaussier, director of Christofle’s offer and products, and of the NFT project. Clémence Krzentowski, owner of Galerie Kreo, which just launched its first NFT in the spring, explains: “It’s about new spaces – and whoever says spaces also says “development” of these spaces… If you have land and a house in an online world, why not objects? It’s a new way of looking at design. »
José Lévy’s virtual kokeshi were displayed as holograms at the latest PAD Paris. Leblon Delienne
During the last PAD Paris, where the most advanced art and design galleries meet, designer José Lévy has offered a virtual variation in the form of holograms of his large Japanese dolls (kokeshi)developed in resin for Leblon Delienne. “As creatives we have to cope with everything new, he says. Anything can arouse my curiosity, even what I don’t understand at first. I found it surprising to create the intangible. For a designer it is a challenge. »
Besides their thirst for knowledge, indeed, the designers are armed with 3D tools and know-how, they also take care that these works are a source of additional income, as any resale of NFT is subject to a resale right. In addition, digital works allow them to break out of their usual constraints, such as gravity or comfort. “Many of the designers we work with wondered what ‘use’ would mean in a virtual universe. The NFT lamp that we developed together with Barber & Osgerby is a lampless, wireless and moving model. She therefore exists only in animated digital form and is sold exclusively online. A new lamp for a new world! » details Clemence Krzentowski.
From real to virtual… and vice versa
Architects and designers Sam Buckley and Anthony Authié came up with five virtual pieces of furniture and the Hexominoes chair for “Design Capsule”. Valentin Fougeray
What could be better than the physical world to reach an uninitiated audience? Because it is still the paradox of this young market that has to multiply the interactions with reality in order to exist. During the last Paris Design Week, the journalist and curator Jean-Christophe Camuset organized “Design Capsule”, an exhibition sale of NFT supported by the magazine She Decoration and produced by fifteen pairs formed by an architect-designer and a digital artist.
The collaboration of Benoit Challand and Pietro Franceschini on the occasion of the Design Capsule Franceschini Challand
The works were presented placed on screens in large boxes that float above the 18th century parquet floore of the Hotel de Soubise, in a scenography signed Sam Baron. Six tandems have also chosen to create, display and sell materialized objects of their NFTs. These will be offered for sale in a permanent gallery of the digital platform SuperRare. Prices range from €3,000 for the NFT alone to €50,000 for the NFT and the physical work.
The virtual does not hunt so not quite the real deal… Star Andrés Reisinger finally saw his seat Hydrangea published by Moooi while Christofle released a new mood whose engraving is inspired by the skyline fromAurifaber Citatis, virtual city developed in parallel…
The “Chambre 36” project by designer Harry Nuriev occupies one of the rooms of the Louisiana hotel. Harry Nuriev
Combine the physical and the digital, this is the case of Harry Nuriev, a young designer who has always created objects influenced by the virtual. This fan of “phygital” will invade several spaces until mid-October, including a room at the iconic hotel in Paris’ Saint-Germain district, La Louisiane, as part of the Bienvenu Design fair. “I wanted to project the ghosts and ghosts of the past of this mythical place into the future and then I came up with the idea to develop five NFTs that incorporate my vision of room 36. I am convinced that in the future digital will connect people to the past and I want to be part of that story.” he said.
Secure, this universe under construction raises many questions, starting with the purchasing system, because to pay for these digital works, you must first acquire cryptocurrencies. The energy consumption of blockchains (databases) is also a sensitive subject. Finally, what about the general public’s adoption of technologies that are still the preserve of a small segment of the population? Answer in the coming months…
> Discover the NFT projects of designer Andrés Reisinger.