ARTE Distribution

"Chic ! meets" : Tomás Alia - "A potted history" of the Sacco - "Rising trends" : The last of the Parisian embroiderers - "What to do with" peas ? - "Rising trends" : Yauatcha, trendy dim sum

"Chic ! meets" : Tomás Alia
This week, we meet one of the most popular designers in Spain - Tomas Alia. Born in Toledo in 1965, he has the extraordinary ability to produce beauty by associating opposites. He blends traditional or tribal objects with the most avant-guard of materials in an ultra sophisticated pattern of light that falls on the objects and transforms them. This interior designer is not interested in decorations or ornaments. What is all-important for him is to work with shapes and space to create a surprise effect, sometimes bordering on the irrational.

"A potted history" of the Sacco
An armchair that moulds to the shape of your body? The Sacco, of course! Now a cult object, this imitation-leather covered beanbag filled with expanded polystyrene balls was born in 1968. The Sacco represents Italian generosity. It is said that in the north of the country, peasants gathered chestnut leaves that they stocked in large sacks that they then used to stuff mattresses. An image that inspired Gatti, Paolini and Teodoro, the Sacco's three designers. The initial idea was to create a universal armchair. It was intended to comfortably contain all sizes of buttock, irrespective of its owner's shape - tall, chubby or skinny.

"Rising trends" : The last of the Parisian embroiderers
Embroidering remains a little-known profession, along with the professions of feather maker, hat maker, boot maker and other traditional suppliers of Parisian couture. These dynamic artisans of haute couture are currently undergoing a transformation, caught between competition from cheap Indian embroiderers and diminishing orders in haute couture, lost to luxury ready-to-wear orders.

"What to do with" peas ?
We asked a top chef what to do with a preponderant ingredient in English cooking - peas.

"Rising trends" : Yauatcha, trendy dim sum
In London, "Yauatcha" is the latest creation of Chinese chef Alan Yau. It is a unique place that is both a tea-house and a dim sum restaurant.