Apple’s second annual Designers of Tomorrow showcase opened at Design Miami/Paris, centering on the theme “Presence.” Curator Rodman Primack described the concept as a response to increasingly hurried lives, emphasizing moments of rest and connection.
Curatorial Vision and Jury Composition
Primack, who previously served as longtime creative director of Design Miami, explained that “Presence for me is about being in the moment and not distracted.” The jury was assembled to reflect a wide range of perspectives, and it included Molly Anderson from Apple, Jennifer Roberts of Design Miami, and Alexandra Cunningham Cameron of the Judd Foundation.
Additional jurors comprised French designer Fabien Cappello, Lagos-based Nifemi Marcus-Bello, Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher from SFMOMA, Seoul-based artist HunChung Lee, New York designer MinJae Kim, and French interior designer Marion Mailaender. Their collective expertise guided the selection of four emerging designers whose work visibly showcases the maker’s hand.
Selected Works Highlight Handcraft
One chosen piece, a lantern by Salem S Charabi, rests on a patterned stone base sourced from Upper Egypt. The shade is made from banana paper, while a delicate skeleton of date-palm fronds, each three millimetres wide and split by hand, forms the structure.
Yoonjeong Lee presented a combined writing table and lamp where worn pencils function as nails, holding the piece together. Primack noted that Lee’s practice begins with “the micro,” building objects from tiny elements and layering veneers in a process that feels like “growing a tree in reverse.”
Designer Isabel Rower offered the “Padded Chair 1860,” inspired by 18th- and 19th-century papier-mâché furniture. The chair features a fringe of over 1,500 ceramic beads that emit sound when brushed, creating a tactile and auditory experience.
Studio founders Genki Matsumura and Sebastian Zorrilla of Parafernalia displayed “MonoAmbiente 1,” a fold-out table and stools that collapse into a case etched with an acid-treated stainless-steel scene. The piece is intended as an intimate setting for one-on-one conversation.
Technology as a Complementary Tool
Rower explained that she uses her iPhone to capture references, building a personal library of research that sits “outside of the endless algorithmic scroll of Instagram.” She highlighted that Apple hardware enables her to curate influences without relying on platform feeds.
Charabi stated, “I don’t distinguish between a MacBook and a chisel, they share equal importance in my practice.”
Visiting the Exhibition
The Designers of Tomorrow installations are on view at Paris’s Hôtel de Maisons until 25 October. Visitors can experience the lantern, table-lamp, beaded chair, and fold-out furniture in person, observing how each piece embodies the exhibition’s focus on presence.
