Moleskine, Driade and Phillippe Nigro at IMM

LEFT: office desk with four legs in black and wood, photographed against a white background; RIGHT: legless portable office table with orange and black details, photographed against a white background

Moleskine and Driade have collaborated on a capsule office furniture collection, designed by Frenchman Philippe Nigro

(Image credit: TBC)

last updated 28 August 2022

When envisioning Italian notebook king Moleskine meeting furniture stalwarts Driade via French designer Philippe Nigro, the mind strings many a thought. Launching at IMM Cologne this year, the trio have joined forces to create a dynamic and modular ‘Portable Atelier'.

Essentially a moveable office, each of the brands harnessed their specific expertise to form a smartly simplistic and refined collection. What began as a desk design has grown to a collection of fundamental workspace pieces, including a matching adjustable stool, a detachable shelf to slot into the desk and plenty of Moleskine-inspired accessories.

‘Portable Atelier’'s manoeuverable state brings to mind memories of Nigro's transportable ottoman and 'Coffre à Lutrin' mobile office from 2013's 'Les Nécessaires d'Hermès' collection. This, together with Moleskine’s travel-friendly, organisation-focused aesthetic and Driade’s expertise with lightweight contemporary materials, makes them a match made in heaven.

The collection is made of plywood, oak and matt steel, allowing for the perfect pack up office environment. But it's not all serious office business; the range is also injected with playful fluorescent yellow and orange tones merging together with black and white basics, making it ideal for mixing and matching.

Described as ‘nomadic', they developed the project from the concept of a moving, journeying office environment. ‘All the pieces interact with each other,' explains Nigro, 'but they can live independently at the same time.’ 'Portable Atelier' will soon be distributed by both Italian manufacturers, and there's been talk of expanding the collaboration and introducing designers Maurizio Galante and Tal Lancman to the fold. Watch this space.

LEFT: legless portable office table with green and white details, photographed against a white background; RIGHT: Wooden adjustable stool with 3 black legs, hotographed against a white background — Titled ’Portable Atelier’, the dynamic collection is a moveable office set that started with a desk and now includes a matching adjustable stool, a detachable shelf to slot into the desk and plenty of Moleskine-inspired accessories

RIGHT: legless portable office table with green an black details, photographed against a white background; LEFT: red rectangular shaped vertical bin, photographed against a white background — The ’nomadic’ collection utilises Driade’s expertise with contemporary materials such as plywood, oak and matt steel, allowing for the perfect lightweight pack-up office environment

LEFT: green rectangular shaped vertical storage box, photographed against a white background; LEFT: red rectangular shaped horizontal storage box, photographed against a white background — Playful fluorescent yellow and orange tones merge with black and white basics for mixing and matching. Pictured: a pencil holder and Moleskine-shaped file holder

INFORMATION

’Portable Atelier’ will soon be available from Moleskine and Driade

Sujata Burman is a writer and editor based in London, specialising in design and culture. She was Digital Design Editor at Wallpaper* before moving to her current role of Head of Content at London Design Festival and London Design Biennale where she is expanding the content offering of the showcases. Over the past decade, Sujata has written for global design and culture publications, and has been a speaker, moderator and judge for institutions and brands including RIBA, D&AD, Design Museum and Design Miami/. In 2019, she co-authored her first book, An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture, published by Hoxton Mini Press, which was driven by her aim to make the fields of design and architecture accessible to wider audiences.