Hi there,

I am Sebastien Cordoleani, industrial designer, trained at ENSCI les Ateliers, in Paris. I work in collaboration with the industry and mainly with workshops specialized on natural materials, in particular: wood, leather and minerals. It often is the cooperation with the craftsman that inspires my new projects.

The Beginnings

Three years ago I was invited to a residency program on the Isola Comacina, located in northern Italy, where I was working with sheets of recycled leather.

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The idea in my head, it was the surprise visit of brother that gave me the opportunity to fabricate a first bag, consisting of a single folded sheet hold together by a single stripe that creates the handle.

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Isola Comacina, at the lake of Como, a first folded bag.

Release

I was myself looking for a simple leather bag for a long time, so I dedicated the conception of the bag to my personal needs. On that base and on demand of my friends I created different models varying in size. The general enthusiasm was great which made me realize the potential of the project.

Design

In general the work of a designer consists of responding to an existing problem linked to an industrial factory. In this context a tool is conceived with the objective to offer the best service while optimizing the investments for a serial production.

But reality is complex and only few of the developed projects are finalized. Distribution and production are often wide apart, the interlocutors numerous and the projects thus less tangible.

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Autonomie

I want to interrupt this cycle by realizing a project of my own making. I want to create, using my own hands, collaborate directly with the different professionals, discover the techniques and above all meet the people who choose my products.

Archipel - Paris is a brand combining modern industrial ideas with tradition: tools are created that ensure the most precise cutting of the leather, which then will be put in shape by hand.

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I enjoy releasing a project of small series of my own making embedded in a local dynamic.

Un matériau noble

Bags are made from a single piece of leather, utilising precise cutting and mounting processes.

The production requires less processing than traditional leatherwork.

The investment is focused on the quality of the vegetable tanned leather, full grain and thick.

Vegetable tanning is a slow and traditional process on the base of natural ingredients (tannin of oak and chestnut) and thus more ecological than the modern processes based on chrome. The result is a noble material, dyed all the way through that profits from its natural characteristics and develops a patina over time.

The leather I am using is dyed in France and Tuscany.

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The singularity of the shapes is a result of the mounting and natural curve of the leather.

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The fastening principal exploits the flexibility of the skin.

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The benefits and potentials of this concept are numerous.

The bags can be mounted on demand, combining different colours.

Storage and transportation are simplified and the stack of patterns optimizes the storage - 6 times less space is required.

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Local making

I met leather experts and manufacturers of clasps and cutouts in Paris between “le Marais” and “Place de la Republique”.

The leather will be cut in “le Marais” and put into shape at my workshop in Montmartre.

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2016 – A collection of bags made of vegetable tanned leather seamless sees the light of day in Paris.

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Products

“We always thought that the beauty is subjected to the assembly of distinct parties, or it comes from the simplicity of a single unit.” Simon Millan, cabinet maker, rue Mayet, Paris 6

Simple shapes,

noble materials,

local making.

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the collaboration of specialized workshops to prepare a noble material, which is used in parsimony and put into shape by hand.

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a creative and experimental laboratory at the heart of the capital, within “Place de la Republique” and the heights of Montmartre.

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The quality of vegetable tanned, full grain leather, natural shades and simple shapes for a product that, if well treated, will accompany you for years!

First Products

Lookbook

Archipel N°2 Archipel_pano2-1460554536 Archipel N°3 Archipel_pano3-1460554546

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Archipel - Paris

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