Milking it: designers get creative with dairy at Paris' Milk Factory

An art display room featuring white walls and ceiling with dark wood flooring. In the middle is a white cone shaped structure with synthetic udders suspended above a white traditional milk pail & white towel which is hanging off structure. On the wall is a quad display of 4 curdles cheeses.

A new exhibition at the Milk Factory in Paris explores dairy products through the lens of design.

(Image credit: Colombe Clier)

last updated 11 October 2022

Designers have churned out their own creative twists on a humble staple for a new exhibition at Paris’ Milk Factory. In ‘Milk Lab’, curator Claire Fayolle has invited 10 renowned designers and studios to imagine the future of dairy products.

A culinary creative lab and gallery run by the French dairy collective, The Milk Factory is intended as a think-tank to promote a mix of disciplines and visions. The initiative provides platform for chefs, visual artists, photographers, and designers to invent and share in the unique space.

Inspired by eighteenth century traditions, British designer Sebastian Bergne has devised a hot milk service-cum-micro laboratory, which can be used to infuse milk with new flavours. Served up on a beech wood tray, the delicate collection of borosilicate glass designs includes a jug housing a thermometer (to be heated slowly and patiently over a candle), along with glasses and stirring spoons.

Catalan designer Martí Guixé has concocted an experimental object using compound butters. Each geometrically shaped piece represents a type of flavoured butter, milk, production or area of expertise. Meanwhile, a 3D milk-printing machine by Betc Design allows users to create mini-sculptures in different flavours and 5.5 Design Studio’s quirky creation – synthetic udders suspended above a traditional milk pail – aims to connect viewers to agriculture.

The works are complemented by 10 pieces created by fledgling designers during a workshop held at French schools L’École Nationale Supérierure D’Art et Design de Nancy (ÉNSAD) and L’École Supérierure D’Art et Design de Reims (ÉSAD). Léo Tavoni, Paul Louda and Victor Grenez – students of the latter - have created a drawing tool that uses cheese instead of ink. ÉNSAD’s offerings include a bottle made of edible milk and dystopian vision of the dairy industry 300 years from now.

‘Milk Lab’ playfully casts an everyday essential in a different light, beyond the glow of the fridge. In this exhibition, designers both established and new prove why they are the cream of the crop.

An art display room featuring white walls and ceiling with dark wood flooring. Milk art display on the shelves and walls of the room — Here, curator Claire Fayolle has invited 10 renowned designers and studios, alongside budding design students, to imagine the future of milk.

5 Clear cylinder glasses filled with condiments on a beech wood tray. 3 clear glass bowl with milk, with a clear glass cylinder base and a clear stiring spoon hovering about it. A clear glass jug of milk with a thermometer inside it placed on a beech wood tray. A clear glass bowl filled with biscuits with a clear glass cylinder base. Photographed on a white table against a white background — Inspired by eighteenth century traditions, British designer Sebastian Bergne has devised a hot milk service-cum-micro laboratory, which can be used to infuse milk with new flavours

LEFT: A clear glass jug of milk with a thermometer inside it placed on a beech wood tray, photogreaphed against a white background RIGHT: A clear glass bowl with milk, with a clear glass cylinder base and a white stiring spoon hovering about it. Photographed against a white background. — Served up on a beech wood tray, the delicate collection of borosilicate glass designs includes a jug housing a thermometer (to be heated slowly and patiently over a candle), along with glasses and stirring spoons

Left: a Pink & White coloured 3D milk-printing machine photographed against a grey background. Right: Small cream coloured geometrically shaped pieces placed on a silver paper photographed against a grey background — Left: a 3D milk-printing machine by Betc Design allows users to create mini-sculptures in different flavours. Right: Catalan designer Martí Guixé has concocted an experimental object using compound butters. Each geometrically shaped piece represents a type of flavoured butter, milk, production or area of expertise

A milk lab split into 3 sections - Hyperbol, Ephemilk and Cloches Affines. The display is on a black and white shelf with the equipments placed on it — Installation view of 'Milk Lab: Designers Reinvent Milk'. The exhibition was designed by Ich&Kar.

A 3D print of curdles cheese. The curdled cheese is a circular form against a white background — 'Peaux', by Marc Bretillot, who has made artful recreations of the curdling of cheese using 3D printing

LEFT: 4 white square wall decors with star design photographed against a white background; RIGHT: two while placts with line designs covering half of the plate photographed against a black background — Left: 'Peaux', by Marc Bretillot. Right: 'Ephe Milk', by Eliumstudio

LEFT: A white circle photographed against a black background with Le Petit Lait inscribed in white below the cirle and the Luxe Lait logo 9in white) on the bottom; RIGHT: 2 bowls photographed against a white background, one white bowl with silver spoon in it and one clear glass bowl with milk and silver spoon in it.

Left: 'Luxe Lait', by François Mangeol. Right: 'Hyperbol', by Stéphane Bureaux

(Image credit: (L) by François Mangeol (R) by Stéphane Bureaux)

A metal structure split into 4 sections with images pinned in each section. From left to right: Crémeux Presentoir by Romain Kloeckner; Pistolait by Victor Grenez, Paul Louda and Léo Tavoni; Milk Clay by Sijya Gupta; Unité de Fabrication by Lisa David, Laure Manhes, Jaïna Ennequin — The works are complemented by pieces created by fledgling designers during a workshop held at French schools L’École Nationale Supérierure D’Art et Design de Nancy (ÉNSAD) and L’École Supérierure D’Art et Design de Reims (ÉSAD). From left to right: Crémeux Presentoir by Romain Kloeckner; Pistolait by Victor Grenez, Paul Louda and Léo Tavoni; Milk Clay by Sijya Gupta; Unité de Fabrication by Lisa David, Laure Manhes, Jaïna Ennequin.

LEFT: Synthetic udders suspended above a white traditional milk pail which is hanging off a white cone shaped structure. Photographed against a light blue background background; RIGHT a white traditional milk pail with metal and wood handle photographed against a light blue background — 5.5 Design Studio’s quirky creation – synthetic udders suspended above a traditional milk pail – aims to connect viewers directly to agriculture.

An exterior view of the design studio showing the displays through a clear glass display window — Installation view of 'Vache à lait', by 5.5 Design Studio.

ADDRESS

Milk Factory
5, rue Paul Bert
Paris

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