Noma éditions, pioneers

An American Indian legend recounts how during a forest fire, a tiny hummingbird carried water droplets in its beak to try to extinguish the flames. The other animals all remained powerless as the fire continued to rage. One of them said to the hummingbird: you’ll never manage to put out the fire with your tiny droplets of water! The hummingbird replied: I know, but I’m doing what I can. It was a very similar intention that inspired Guillaume Galloy and Bruce Ribay to set up NOMA Editions back in June 2019.  The planet’s burning, and on an individual level, no-one really knows what to do about it. But if everyone were to do their bit... NOMA stands for noble materials. A noble material in NOMA’s eyes is a recycled material that has very little environmental impact. The pieces that come out of this French design house are eco-designed from start to finish and all inspired by the firm’s mantra: beauty is the most powerful catalyst for change. The two associates have sought out the services of some of the design world’s most talented names, including Sam Baron, Charlotte Juillard, A+A Corren, the RDAI agency (Réna Dumas), Martino Gamper and the Jean-Marc Gady Studio to name but a few. The codes of French-style luxury hold no secret for Guillaume Galloy and Bruce Ribay, with both having worked at Louis Vuitton for a number of years. Guillaume, the engineer, managed retail concepts whilst Bruce, the architect, developed interior design projects. Bruce then went on to become global sustainable building design and development manager at Céline, another jewel in the LVMH group’s crown. The pair would often chat over drinks of the dream they shared of launching their own design brand. It was only later that they would come to realise that no brands whatsoever were focusing on responsible premium design. 

“Our products simply don’t look recycled - you’d never guess”

“The more we thought about it, the more we realised that chairs simply couldn’t go on being produced in the way they were”, explains Bruce Ribay. “We decided to tackle the problem holistically by systematically carrying out a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) on all our products, examining the sourcing of materials, the various stages of manufacture, and how the products are used, transported and packaged.” The stage prior to that involves sourcing locally-available recycled materials that are produced using very little energy. Designing fully dismantlable furniture is the final piece in the jigsaw, ensuring that every single element can be recycled, repaired or re-used. All their creations are designed to last. Certain industries, such as the steel industry, are extremely well organised. Others, such as the plastic sector, may still be finding their feet but nonetheless offer a huge amount of aesthetic potential. Their “material library” boasts 150 references that are at the cutting edge of research, including samples of Scalite, a material that resembles marble but is actually made from nothing but salmon scales. The Ghan table, designed by Charlotte Juillard, features a recycled plastic yoghurt pot top combined with a walnut husk-stained wooden foot that began life as a sawmill offcut. Bruce Ribay holds up an extremely soft sheet of material made from cosmetic packaging, another that combines cork with plastic, and a sample that shows how powdered glass can be incorporated into ceramics to create an attractive Terrazzo-style finish. The cushions on each of their armchairs are stuffed with a layer of recycled and agglomerated foam.  On the brand’s website, the percentage of recycled materials each item contains is displayed even before the designer’s own name. For Charlotte Juillard’s Ghan, that percentage is 92.8%. For Sam Baron’s Pedra candleholders, meanwhile, made from scraps of stone from a Portuguese quarry that shimmer with constellations of crystals, the figure is an outstanding 99.6%. Every single designer has received eco-design training. NOMA pledges total transparency regarding the provenance and environmental impact of all its creations, which are manufactured in limited edition runs by artisans. RDAI has designed a console table, whose legs, crafted from travertine stone offcuts, have been curved into arches with the help of specialised technology that allows the stone to be shaped. 

With its brass strut and curvaceous lines, the elegant Ghan side table looks like something that started out life in a palace rather than a dustbin. “Our products simply don’t look recycled - you’d never guess”, comments Bruce Ribay. Their very first customers were architects and a handful of environmentally conscious aesthetes, but the brand’s pledge to support the circular economy whilst fusing comfort and design rapidly won them a host of admirers.  There were invited to fit out the Parisian HQ for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Hermès and Givenchy have also backed their brand. Their collection will finally go on show at Maison&Objet Paris this September, with the brand making its début appearance. The duo also responded to Paris Design Week’s call for outdoor projects, and are set to present a spectacular piece in the courtyard of the Hôtel de Lamoignon in the Marais. A ten-meter-long table, crafted from a blend of recycled paper and resin, designed by Ateliers 2/3/4, a firm that shares their philosophy. The table top’s raw edges offer a glimpse of the piled up sheets of paper within, a design that couldn’t be more appropriate for this particular venue, which houses the Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris. Plus, it’s the perfect fit for the event’s central theme: desirable development.

By Caroline Tossan
Illustration ©Sarah Bouillaud

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