Press Kit AIRDIEM_30oct2009

Press Kit
Pausing for pleasure
AIRDIEM - Paris
Showroom: 75 rue Claude Bernard 75005 Paris
Siège social: 26, avenue du château d’Este 64140 Billère - France
Tél. : +33(0)9 5172 4852 - Fax +33 (0) 559 921 769 - [email protected] www.airdiem .com
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AIRDIEM : an evocative brand name
Airdiem is a company created by Eric and Emmanuelle Gormand out of their desire to re-invent the smoking
room, that special place for sensual pleasure and conviviality. Somewhere between a boudoir and a den or
study, it is first of all a place for being with friends. This pair of art lovers invites us to share in their passion for
finely crafted beauty, and through timeless, luxurious objects to dream of other times and other places.
As the grandson of a Lyons silk manufacturer who from the 1930s to the 1970s supplied the great fashion
houses such as Dior, Fath, Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Eric Gormand has always been infatuated with fine
craftsmanship. He imbues his products with a sensibility he acquired over an unusual, in fact exotic, career.
Eric founded Airdiem with his wife Emmanuelle, a graduate of the Ecole du Louvre and an expert in decorative
history. To create a collection that matched their passion, the couple has surrounded themselves with highly
renowned international designers creating narghiles that belong to today: Nedda El Asmar, Hilton McConnico,
Régis Dho, Atelier SZ and Tribu Design.
The narghiles: unique and inventive works of art
AIRDIEM carries on the French tradition of excellence in the making of narghiles.
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Until the early 20 century, French makers such as Baccarat, Saint Louis and Christofle provided narghiles to
diplomatic services around the world, not to mention palaces.
AIRDIEM has taken up this torch by offering products made in France by our master craftsmen. Our products
have been updated both technically and esthetically, with hygiene and safety always in mind.
The narghile—traditionally a feature of Mediterranean culture and an accessory that symbolizes “letting go"—
is all about relaxing, escaping and sharing. It represents the art of living in way that rises above its origins and
today deserves international recognition.
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The narghile repositions smoking for its upscale market segment as something consumed in measured,
hedonistic fashion (no addiction).
Airdiem shows in such major salons as the Maison & Objet in Paris, ABC Design in Milan, the Biennale
Internationale du Design in Saint Etienne and the Hotel Show & Index in Dubaï. Airdiem has won numerous
design awards—for example, the “Observeur du design” award in 2008, the Henry Van de Velde award in 2007,
the Red Dot in 2009
A world of luxury and artistry
The narghile (also known as a hookah, argileh,
shisha, ghelyoon or hubble-bubble) stands as the
cosmopolitan centerpiece around which Airdiem
fashions a broad line of very high quality smokingroom accessories, such as our mixture boxes,
humidors, smoking-room chest, moveable furniture,
and more.
Airdiem works with fine materials like gold, silver,
pewter, Corian, rare exotic woods and precious
leathers.
The very name Airdiem suggests precious moments:
The “air” stands for lightness and reverie, and the “diem” comes from the motto of the ancient hedonists,
CARPE DIEM.
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"N" by Nedda El-Asmar
A Belgian designer with Palestinian roots, Nedda El-Asmar has become a major figure in the world of décor.
Hermès, Puiforcat, Robbe & Berkings and Villeroy & Bochs have picked up her bold and witty creations.
Nedda was voted European Designer of the Year in 2007 by the French newspaper l’Express. Her narghile
received the 2008 Henry Van de Velde design prize, along with the Observeur du Design award that same year.
“I wanted to create something streamlined
that also looked timeless. It’s a functional
object that suggests those moments of
relaxation when you just take your own
time, yet also feels convivial.”
A stylish and elegant narghile, with a subtle
but highly-developed technology.
This narghile has turned into a decorative as
well as practical object—modern, feminine
and slender, completely at home in a 21st
century urban interior.
Solid high-polished pewter version
The piece can be engraved
Height: 40cm, Diameter: 11 cm
Weight: 1.5 kg
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"Pure" by Nedda El-Asmar
"Coral"
Coral is the 'garden of the sea', and is said
to cure madness and give wisdom.
Records dating back thousands of years
confirm that coral was used in decorative
art objects.
Gold plated version – 18 carats
Narghile adorned with a sprig
of coral (in bronze)
colors: red or gold
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"Fez top Narghile" by Hilton McConnico
Both a designer and a major figure in the art world, Hilton McConnico is known for his bold and colorful
creations as well as his contributions to the success of Saint-Louis, Daum, Hermès and others.
Something of a UFO in contemporary design, Hilton McConnico has been designing and taking risks for 40 years
with a universally recognized style all his own: playful and irreverent.
“This narghile represents
someone dressed up impishly. I
wanted it to suggest the
warmth and friendliness you
find in the East. I see it as
jolly.”
All of Hilton McConnico’s
whimsy and mischievousness
come out in this pop narghile.
Exotic and colorful, it is
topped off with the traditional
fez.
Body of metal, plastic and
chrome, balls of acrylic
mother-of-pearl and glass
Height: 38 cm, Width: 14 cm,
Weight: 1 kg
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"The Pondicherry Narghile" by Régis Dho
For Airdiem Régis Dho has created a “jeweled narghile” influenced by his memories of a sunfilled, lush and colorful land. Inspired by the Silk Road that runs from India to the
Mediterranean, this piece embodies all the magic of the East.
Bronze gold plated 18 carats, Obsidian stone, Glasswork, burner in Hi-tech ceramic, malachite.
Customizable with semi-precious stones and pearls
Height: 52 cm, Diameter: 18cm, Weight 6,5kg
Silver, lapis lazuli
Gunmetal silver, onyx
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"The White Narghile" by TribuDesign
TRIBUDESIGN is an untypical agency consisting of talented young Lebanese designers.
Their logo shaped like a mask expresses their collective attitude against the star system: the team comes
before the individual.
“If you want to preserve
tradition, you have to help
it evolve. So, by making the
narghile more functional
and practical to use, we
wanted to create new social
behaviors around an object
that was mired in tradition.”
This narghile’s original and untypical
design gives it universality.
It works with the current minimalist
trend: a young, portable version of the
narghile.
This sleekness of this horizontal piece is
accentuated by the modernity of
Corian. This narghile is a natural fit with
new technologies.
Natural acrylic stone, stainless steel
and leather
Length: 40 cm, Width: 11 cm
Height: 5 cm
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"The Why (Y) narghile" by Atelier SZ
Sibylle Tamer Abillama is a designer with an appetite for living. Her training took her from Beirut (Académie
Libanaise des Beaux-Arts) to Paris (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts) by way of New York (Parsons
The New School for Design). This audacious, cosmopolitan, modern young woman makes things in her own
image.
“This narghile leads up to a moment of happiness, of midday repose, of dreaming,
thinking and wondering with its name and its shape like a Y: Why-u...Y-me? Why-us?"
The feminine curves haven given way to
right angles, the glass to red Plexiglas, the
brass to silvered metal.
In this pared-down design the narghile
becomes timeless.
Materials: Plexiglas and silvered metal
Height: 54 cm, Width: 32 cm
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Health care
Airdiem is not only interested in how the narghile looks but also in how well it works, with a constant eye
towards hygiene and safety. The materials are all certified food-grade. The innovative burner, for example,
incorporates the latest health recommendations.
The narghile repositions tobacco for its upscale market segment as something
consumed in measured, hedonistic fashion. This natural product is 75%
melasse (honey and fruits) and 25 %tobacco … but zero calorie. These mixtures
can be found in tobacco shops and duty free shops.
Very much like the legendary tea ceremony, the preparation of the narghile
and the presentation of the mixture add to the pleasure of the smoking
experience.
Airdiem narghile is hygienic and aesthetic, no aluminium used.
Airdiem narghile is safe, the charcoal is taking place inside the burner.
Airdiem narghile diffuse much less smell in a room. The tobacco is perfectly distillated at the proper
temperature and does not burn when you do not inhale.
No harshness as well as smoothest and sophisticated flavours targeting women taste as well as men.
The hi-tech ceramic burner is made of a material used in aeronautics and
high-end watch making. It holds the coal on a superfine stainless steel
mesh instead of aluminum foil, again out of concern for safety and
hygiene.
Built with a double chamber, it distills the mixture to the ideal
temperature for a guaranteed mild smoke.
A pleasure to be taken in moderation
Medical studies show that narghile is a no addiction product. Narghile does note lead to a future cigarette
consumption.
The smoke is made of 90 % humidity, narghile smoke does not remain on your clothing.
In striking contrast with cigarettes, hookah does generate almost no side-stream smoke because of its
peculiarities (charcoal topping the bowl and less elevated temperatures).
According to Professor Bartsch the link between narghile and cigarette is weak. The main common product is
CO2: 1 narghile for 6 cigarettes.
97% of narghile customers do smoke less than 3 times per month.
The narghile is taken in a moderate way and did not lead to any sanitary issue for the last 500 years
(Dr Kamal Chaouachi) in "a Passion, not for Hookah but for Scientific Integrity".
http://knol.google.com/k/kamal-chaouachi/hookah-smoking-from-a-biomedical-and/534k6mvefph/4#
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