Concours Cinna, 

Cinna Contest, Talent Revealer

Founded in 2006 to mark the 60th anniversary of Maison Française magazine, the contest grew out of a simple ambition: to discover a new generation of designers. To bring this initiative to life, the magazine partnered with Cinna, the French contemporary furniture brand renowned for its commitment to innovation and creativity. Under the impetus of Michel Roset, then co-director of the eponymous group, the contest immediately stood out for its unique approach: award-winning projects were not simply left as concepts, but were supported through to production and commercialisation.

In 2015, the venture continued in partnership with Marie Claire Maison magazine, with the introduction of a Public Choice Award. Renamed Cinna Révélateur de talents, the contest reached a wider audience. Over the past twenty years, it has led to the production of around thirty objects and supported numerous designers who are now recognised in France and internationally.

The Ésad Saint-Étienne, a long-standing partner of the contest

Since its earliest editions, the Cinna Contest has forged close ties with art and design schools, particularly Ésad Saint-Étienne, where many students and graduates have had their projects recognised. By confronting their ideas with the realities of publishing, production and the market, the contest offers young designers hands-on experience at the crossroads of experimentation, professional practice and industrial expertise.

From idea to object: at the heart of the creative process

Designed as a progressive journey, the exhibition invites visitors behind the scenes of the creative process, following the path from the first sketch to the finished product. Around forty award-winning pieces are presented alongside materials documenting their development: sketchbooks, preparatory drawings, models, prototypes, samples, technical documents, photographs and archival material. Visitors can explore the different stages in the development of projects such as Studio Chape&Mache’s Ondule lamp, Robin Thannberger’s Kroc mobile desk and Rémi Dehaene’s Trèfle de lumière lamp.

By bringing together research, intermediate prototypes and finished pieces, the exhibition reveals the trials, adjustments and decisions that gradually transform an idea into an object designed to be manufactured and used. Audiovisual accounts offer further insight into the production process, revealing the dialogue between designers, engineers, craftspeople and production teams. From the history of the contest to contemporary design issues, the exhibition highlights the deeply collaborative nature of the creative process, at the intersection of experimentation, expertise and industry.

Curator: Maëlle Campagnoli
Exhibition design: Laurène Veyrunes, Violette de Fleurian (Cinna), Cité du design

About Cinna

Since 1975, Cinna has been exploring contemporary design with a bold and free-spirited approach. Based in Briord, in the Ain region of France, the French furniture brand creates collections that combine creativity, comfort and character, reflecting changing ways of living and making a home. Shaped by an ongoing dialogue with designers from a wide range of backgrounds, its collections bring together sofas, armchairs, furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. Each creation offers a distinctive vision of the home, where forms, materials and uses interact to create spaces that are both personal and welcoming. Curious and unconventional, Cinna champions a vibrant approach to design, open to individual tastes and lifestyles. A particular vision of the home, where the freedom to shape one’s own interior is part of the pleasure of living in it.

Communiqué de presseConcours Cinna, de l’idée à l’éditionAn exhibition where design, education and industry meet