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Blueprint editor Johnny Tucker reports from imm cologne and Maison&Objet Paris

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While the offerings at imm furniture fair offered up under leaden Cologne skies, were almost universally austere in colour, ranging from neutral to grey, Maison&Objet, offered a much lighter touch in Paris, perhaps in some respects reflecting a show with lighter intentions.

The Das Haus feature, Neri&Hu. Photo: Courtesy Neri&Hu

At both, finding the new launches is a bit of task. These shows, and in particular, imm, are where we find the pieces launched at Milan have evolved, with a little refining of finishes and sometimes form, into manufactured pieces ready for the market.

Grid system desk, Ying Chan. Photo: Ian Bartlett Photography

All that said, there were a number of new and exciting pieces and even imm had the odd burst of colour. imm is a serious show looking to be taken even more seriously, witness the installation of Memory Lane, by Shanghai architect Neri&Hu, which we previewed in Blueprint 338.

Angry Lamp, Weng Xinyu. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

Though I met up with Lyndon Neri just before Christmas for his explanation, it seems the design had developed even further by mid- January. That's definitely not to say it was rushed; the level of detailing on what was an enticing and intriguing piece of work attested to that.

Iris, Neo/craft. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

A raised, light-wood walkway took you past a series of rooms into which you could peer voyeuristically. The walkway was contrasted with the walls of the rooms that referenced Peter Zumthor's jet-black, material-covered walls of the Serpentine Pavilion from 2012.

Boynton Hall Sideboard, Cassina, Frank Lloyd Wright. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

Creative director, Dick Spierenburg, showed me around breathlessly, with an almost childlike enthusiasm running from one room to the next -- artfully cluttered rooms which effortlessly melded East and West much like Neri&Hu's architecture itself.

Table chairs and pieces, Meccano Furniture. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

The rooms featured classic pieces as well as Neri&Hu's own work including a chair for Classicon launched at imm and some prototype pieces for De La Espada (with who they also had launches of a table, chair, sofa and bed at M&O).

Table chairs and pieces, Meccano Furniture. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

Elsewhere in Cologne, debutant Neo/craft's soap-bubble-like light, Iris, was very strong, and Cassina continued its heritage of having pieces by the very biggest name architects, with a sideboard by Frank Lloyd Wright originally designed for Boynton Hall in New York in 1908, as well as some tweaks to Jaime Hayon's Vico sofa that was launched in Milan.

Cubical table, Coco & Co. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

At the other end of the career trajectory, in the Pure Talent emerging designer zone, two names which shone out were those of Weng Xinyu from the Bauhaus, with his Angry Lamp among other pieces, and from London's RCA, Ying Chan's grid system desk.

Cube, Tom Dixon. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

In Paris, the desk came in for some attention from two design heavyweights, Tom Dixon and Michael Young. For Hong Kong-based EOQ, Young had designed an elegant, precision-extruded, anodized aluminium, leather-topped desk with walnut or oak legs.

Nest, Ercol, Paola Navona. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

And if you wanted you could populate that desktop with minimal pen-to-stapler Cube pieces from Dixon in one of his now trademark materials, copper (actually zinc alloy and copper plate).

Orsted Desk, EOQ, Michael Young. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

Elsewhere, Benjamin Hubert created a beautiful Beacon lamp and De La Espada put in an impressive showing launching pieces from Neri&Hu, Matthew Hilton, Luca Nichetto and Autoban. The latter's work included a very heavy-looking, Seventies-meets-art- deco sofa.

Meccano quietly entered the furniture market at the very end of last year with a series of literally bolt-together pieces, and added to the range at M&O. Originally the invention of Frank Hornby in Liverpool in the 1800s, the company is now based in Calais. Meccano Furniture is the brainchild of furniture retailer, Vincent Boutillier and engineer Christophe Piquemal.Their idea was shared with two designers, Cécile Makowski and Thomas Hourdain, who came up with scaled-up parts and new forms to allow the creation of a series of DIY furniture pieces.

Beacon Lamp, Benjamin Hubert. Photo: Courtesy Manufacturer/Designer

Other highlights included Chisel & Mouse's launch of two Walter Gropius building sculptures and Ercol, which showed a sofa designed by Paola Navona that is like Ercol on steroids - but in a good way! It's clearly Ercol in its use of the classic wooden spindle frame, yet somehow more muscular and more inviting.