Montreal studio debuts rubber furniture
Montréal‑based Atelier Fomenta is making its Milan Design Week debut with experimental furniture made from rubber, a material choice the preview calls one of the more unusual experiments in this year’s lineup (wallpaper.com). Wallpaper frames the project as material-driven design that tests domestic conventions—Atelier Fomenta’s rubber pieces are positioned as both sculptural and functional within the fair program (wallpaper.com).
Atelier Fomenta, a Montréal design studio, is making its Milan Design Week debut with furniture built from rubber instead of wood, metal or foam. (wallpaper.com) The studio is made up of Julia Arvelo, Florence Barnabé and Muriel Bentolila, and it says its objects are handmade in Montreal with local artisans. Its practice focuses on industrial, accessible materials for residential and commercial spaces. (atelierfomenta.com) Wallpaper’s preview says the rubber pieces include tables with “rubber tablecloths,” folded shelving units and cylindrical lamps. The magazine said it first saw the work earlier in 2026 at “Pot-au-feu,” a group exhibition by the Quebec collective Ensemble at DesignTO Festival. (wallpaper.com) Rubber is an unusual furniture material because it is usually used for grip, sealing or cushioning, not as the visible structure of a shelf or table. Sixtysix magazine reported that Atelier Fomenta’s Rubber Libraries shelves use a black rubber sheet and aluminum rivets, with no hidden frame or metal armature. (sixtysixmag.com) That puts the project inside a larger Milan Design Week conversation about materials, where designers use the fair to test new surfaces, fabrication methods and domestic formats in public. Milan Design Week 2026 runs across the city from April 20 to 26, while the Salone del Mobile fairgrounds event runs April 21 to 26. (designboom.com) (salonemilano.it) The work is also appearing in Milan through Playing House, which lists Atelier Fomenta’s Rubber Table and Rubber Lamp as part of its exhibition. A separate Playing House exhibition page names the Rubber Light and Rubber Side Table in its Milan presentation. (playinghouse-site.myshopify.com 1) (playinghouse-site.myshopify.com 2) (playinghouse.co) Milan matters for small studios because the week functions as both a trade fair and a citywide showcase, drawing brands, galleries, editors and collectors into the same circuit. ArchDaily called the 2026 edition a citywide platform for installations, exhibitions and conversations, while Salone del Mobile describes its fair as a leading international event for the design industry. (archdaily.com) (salonemilano.it) For Atelier Fomenta, the debut turns a material usually hidden inside products into the product itself. In Milan, the studio is betting that rubber can read as furniture, not just finish or padding. (wallpaper.com) (sixtysixmag.com)
