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About the company

AKAR DE NISSIM is an elegant lifestyle brand appealing to discerning design connoisseurs and cosmopolitan aesthetes around the world. With inspiration from the East and the West throughout time, it is an universally appealing brand for the balanced fusion of styles expressed.

About the founder

French native Richard Le Sand has over 20 years of experience in the design, branding and décor industry, having consulted for many top-tier clients in France. In 2000, he received 1st prize for his work at MAISON&OBJET in Paris.

Le Sand relocated to Singapore in 2008 and established AKAR de NISSIM in 2011 together with his wife Marianne Fabre, thereby fulfilling his dream of designing his own collections and manufacturing the products in-house to ensure a consistently high quality. He is the guardian of both the brand strategy and the brand aesthetics.

The company communicates their philosophy through a man named Akar, who is described as “the embodiment of our multicultural world of today”. To keep it simple, designers utilize the beautifully rare material and their knowledge of Europe and Asia culture and condense them into the form of furnitures and accessory.

What contributes to the brand’s uniqueness is a sense of heritage and respect for traditional artisan skills yet with modernist ideals and outlook. The result is a collection of contemporary objects, each one individual, each one with the personal and edited touch of the designer.

The brand is under-stated, even quiet yet has an unusual strength of character. The diversity and depth of products is the reflection of Akar’s curious and charming nature. The subtle but intentional gestures of AKAR DE NISSIM speak volumes to its sophisticated clients globally.

Notable products

PRUNE PEPPER – Side Table

The Prune Salt and Pepper side tables are a whimsical play on shapes and colours. The marble stone is the salt and the anthracite oak is the pepper. The opposites represent the inevitable balance of Yin and Yang. Their elegant look makes them well-suited for rustic/nostalgic or minimalist style. The marble finish of the top is a nice, delicate touch.

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OPIUM – Daybed

The Opium daybed has a more contemporary approach with its inspiration from the Chinese heritage, in particular, the Ming dynasty. With their signature rounded oak profile fencing the lying surface, the red lacquer paired with red leather cushions will effortlessly become the centerpiece of your living space. It’s up to you to pick matching cushions!

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DUKE – Console

The Duke console exudes a pure Art Deco spirit with a modern twist. The combination of the solid oak frame with its straw marquetry on the drawer’s front panel brings a contemporary touch to its architecture and design. A brass belt underlining the console top completes the Duke console with a touch of refinement.

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IRIS – Coffee table

Whether it be presented in straw marquetry or mosaic-style buffalo horn, the Iris coffee table is exquisitely stunning. The top is made by using tradition French method, which seems to be a backward trend these days.

Half circle, half square, the “squircle” signifies the duality of the circle and square in the Neo Confucianism philosophy. The tahiti shell style top makes the table appealing to look at from every angle.

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Straw marquetry is the art of hand crafting decorative patterns from ribbon-thin, flattened slithers of rye straw. Individually tinted, the stems are imported in small batches directly from France. Each stem is dyed, opened and flattened into fine strips. It is then inlaid by hand, edge to edge on paper or wood until the entire surface is covered. Patterns are achieved through careful pre-planning and expert execution. It takes such dedication for create the Iris table top.

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Romain DUVAL