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Meet NOVA — a limited capsule collection of padel rackets inspired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Open Access collection.
Instead of keeping centuries of art locked behind glass, I wanted to bring these masterpieces directly into play. Padel is dynamic, fast, and high-impact. By pairing ancient craftsmanship with performance carbon fiber, each racket becomes a true material rebirth — not just a print on a frame.
Video Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMWdmlPqhR0
FLORA Canvas: https://app.flora.ai/join-project/b0175763-2c3f-4e95-9763-dfc1f0f18ba1
Post on X: https://x.com/yurii_oleskiv/status/2096981092519551428
Featured artifacts from The Met Archive:
Length of painted silk: 18th-century French textile with floral bouquets on turquoise silk.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/239345
Tunic: 15th–16th century Incan royal garment with iconic red-and-black checkerboard weave.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/751901
Glass hexagonal amphoriskos: 1st-century Roman mold-blown cobalt glass vessel.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/245376
Vase (Grueby Pottery): Early 20th-century Arts and Crafts vessel with matte cucumber-green glaze.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/19839
Guitar: Late 17th-century European baroque instrument inlaid with ivory and tortoiseshell.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/503932
Bottle with Birds and Peony Scroll: 15th-century Joseon porcelain decorated in cobalt blue.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/37557
"Wild Rose" Lily vase: Late 19th-century Favrile blown glass designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/21617
Under the Wave off Kanagawa: Iconic c. 1830–32 color woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39799
Sweetmeat dish: 17th-century European segmented ceramic serving platter with radial patterns.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/200731
Everything was conceived, iterated, and directed inside FLORA. The node-based canvas made it effortless to link raw archival references, dial in textures, and build cinematic promo renders & videos in one workspace.
A limited series built for the court today... that might just end up back behind the museum glass a century from now.
Created for the challenge by @FLORA x @Contra HQ . #FLORAMuseum #Contra
First Promo Video
Second Promo Video
Third Promo Video
Promo Photoes
So stylish and aesthetic 😍
Thanks!
Brilliant idea 🚀
Thank you!
Super😍😍😍
Thanks!
I'm impressed by your work! These padel rackets are insane, and the way you showed them are blowing my mind!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words, and I'm thrilled to hear that you liked the presentation.
Thanks 🙌
Amazing!
Thanks a lot!
This is so cool ❤️🔥
Thanks 🙌
Thanks 🔥
so cool!!🔥
Thank you 🔥
Thanks!
Padel racket design is so coooool, great job! 🎉
Thanks! 🎉
Love the simplicity here, it gives the brand such a nice feel
This is a serious breakdown, effort put together, the way you showed the racket are amazing
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L’Empreinte — “The Imprint”
I wanted to explore the relationship we build with the objects around us — the marks they leave on us, and the marks we leave on them.
I started with François-Thomas Germain’s Coffeepot, made in Paris in 1757. What interested me was not only its form, but the world it represented: a time when rituals such as drinking coffee, serving and displaying silverware were surrounded by extraordinary care, craftsmanship and ceremony.
That made me think about our rituals today.
We listen through headphones. We gather around speakers. We work through laptops. We communicate through phones.
The objects have changed, but we still build habits, memories and relationships around them.
What if that same care, refinement and presence were applied to the products surrounding our lives today?
Rather than reproducing the coffeepot, I wanted its design language to leave an empreinte on a new generation of objects. Its flowing ornament, polished silver, sculptural curves and sense of preciousness became the basis for a collection of headphones, speakers, phones and laptops.
The aim was to imagine another evolution of modern design — one where ornament had never completely disappeared, and where technology could still feel crafted, emotional and precious.
Explore the full FLORA project here:
https://app.flora.ai/view/js7b1ngr9rm9d9v0cv3vzc6tkx8dvnrf
I’ve also included a process video showing how the idea developed from the original reference into the final collection and world.
Instead of placing the objects inside a cold technological setting, I built an environment around stone, natural textures, open space, light and the sky. The tree-like elements and blue-and-white opening above connect the space back to nature, contrasting with the polished technology and making the environment feel more grounded and alive.
The people complete that world. They are different, but their gestures overlap: listening, working, communicating and sharing sound. Their presence shows how these objects become part of the body, the room and the rituals that connect us.
That is ultimately what L’Empreinte represents:
the trace history leaves on design,
the trace objects leave on us,
and the trace we leave on them in return.
A collection imagining what might happen if the refinement of the past became part of the design language we still spoke today.
Created with @FLORA for the FLORA Museum Challenge.
Original work:
François-Thomas Germain, Coffeepot, Paris, 1757
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Amazing approach and design work!
VIETNAM, Y3K — FLORA Museum Challenge
For the FLORA Museum Challenge, I chose the Incense Burner with Dragon Spout, a Vietnamese artifact from the 1st–3rd century in The Met’s collection ( https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/53862 ), and reimagined it through a Y3K lens.
I wanted to connect an ancient object with a familiar image of Vietnam today: a woman riding a scooter. The dragon-shaped incense burner became a futuristic chrome vehicle, while traditional Vietnamese clothing and the conical hat were transformed into synthetic future wear.
I built the entire visual world in FLORA, from the clothing and accessories to the dragon scooter, environments, stills, and final video. Using AI as a world building tool, the project imagines how Vietnamese visual culture might evolve into another timeline while still carrying traces of its past.
Love the direction with this! The references to Vietnamese culture is so unique!
Inspired by: Grere'o (Shield), Solomon Islands, early-to-mid 19th century, from The Met's open archive.
Link to Original Art : https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/310073
I liked this shield because of its beautiful pattern and shine. It has a detailed design with a human figure in the middle, made from woven cane and shiny shell pieces. It looked like something made to be seen, not just used.
What I made: I turned the shield into a surfboard, but kept its design exactly the same, same pattern, same shine, same figure. I only changed its shape into a board. I picked a surfboard because its long shape already matches the shield's shape, so it felt like a natural change.
How I made it: I downloaded the Sheild image from Met's open archive, then imported the sheild picture in flora , connected picture with text prompt node, then I connected both picture and text prompt node to the video node and I selected the seedance 2.5 model with 30sec clip, I kept the work flow simple because I am new to flora and I was afraid maybe I may use all the credits before even creating good video, add this in how I made it
Why I made this: I wanted to take this design out of the museum and give it a new life in something people can use and see in motion. I think the shield's pattern is still beautiful enough to belong in The Met today, just now on a different object.
Instagram post link: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc3Nn8IAT2O/
Twitter(X) post link: https://x.com/AhmadSauleh/status/2095827847915163648?s=20
Such a clean fusion of culture and modern sport! Did you encounter any issues getting FLORA to keep the intricate shell pattern consistent across different camera angles