AT Europe: Paris - Joe the Polar Bear from Ibride

The latest animal-inspired piece of furniture from French designers Ibride is Joe the Polar Bear, a limited-edition white laminated wood bookshelf that they call the "masterpiece" of the company's animal-themed furniture line.

Joe the Polar Bear from Ibride can now be seen at the Bon Marché department store, which is hosting a satellite of contemporary art, fashion and design objects from Paris design gallery Arty Dandy until May 24.

At the Joe the Polar Bear website, the owners of the 49 other limited-edition polar bear bookcases can share stories and photos of Joe the Bear sightings on a world map. The first several bears have migrated to Paris, Milan, Moscow, Amsterdam, Athens, Cairo, Sofia, London, Geneva, Vienna, Copenhagen, Bangkok, Sao Paulo and New York.

Here are some other Ibride specimens:

- Kristin Hohenadel blogging from rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, France. She can be reached at kristinh @ apartmenttherapy . com

Comments (5)

Just curious - is Ibride a French word? I have wondered that since I saw their animal trays at shops here in NYC.

I'm usually all for creative and original designs, but these just look hideous. I could probably like the bear if the shelves were level, but otherwise, ugh.

Might be nice for a school library or similar.

i think it might be a bastardized form of the french pronunciation of "hybride," hybrid.

i wish this was a hot or not, because it's certainly not hot.