Dimitry Hlinka
Nicolas Pinon

Dimitry Hlinka, a French designer who studied craft and design at the École Boulle, along with cabinetmaking and marquetry and later on event design, has developed an acute sensitivity with regard to the link between craftsmanship and innovation. His creative practice, rooted in abundant technical and conceptual skills, is based on exploration of the mechanical, aesthetic and functional properties of material. His designs, often produced in collaboration, are the fruit of a vision that encourages new creative approaches, moving between expertise and experimentation. Marrying ancestral know-how and new technologies, his activity covers all phases of the project, right up to the production of functioning prototypes. From 2015 to 2017 he was given the opportunity to receive support from the incubator Ateliers de Paris, opening a studio-workshop of his own: a hybrid and very open space, moving from the idea to handiwork with no limits.

Nicolas Pinon, a French craftsman of lacquer who trained in cabinetmaking at the École Boulle, discovered the urushi lacquer made from plant sap at the end of his studies. He was able to go to Japan to learn from Nagatoshi Onishi, a master of the technique. On numerous trips to various Japanese cities, he worked with local craftsmen to hone his skills in the art of lacquering. Based in Paris, he pursues a unique line of research, developing a new approach to the use of urushi lacquer while maintaining respect for traditional Japanese techniques. Since 2018 he has been collaborating with Dimitry Hlinka, giving rise to new and cutting-edge concepts, rooted in the slow-made and the green trend. Together they have created the Entropie radiator and the Tipo teapot, experimenting with a new plant-based coating, developed with a lacquer manufacturer in Kyoto.