Pierre Paulin was born in Paris on July 9, 1927. He served as a French furniture designer and interior designer. Paulin trained to become a ceramist in Vallaurius on the French Rivera and then as a stone-carver in Burgundy. He also spent time with the Gascoin company in Le Havre where he became interested in Scandinavian and Japanese design.

In addition, Paulin made his debut exhibition at the Salon des arts mnagers in 1953. He appeared on the cover of La Maison Franaise magazine following the debut. In 1954, Paulin started working at the Thonet company and experimented with the use of stretching swimwear materials over chairs. Four years later, he joined the Maastricht-based Dutch manufacturer Artifort, where he developed his "Mushroom chair" in 1960.

The Mushroom chair consisted of stretch material across the chair's frame, giving the seat a round, comfortable shape. Paulin used foams and rubbers from Italy and stretched them around a light metallic frame during the design process. He also focused on applied design rather than comfort during this process, giving the seat a distinct look and feel. Paulin designed the "Ribbon chair" in 1966 and the "Tongue chair" in 1968. His works inspired many designers over the years, including Olivier Mourge. Paulin's chairs were even featured in Stanley Kubrick's classic film "2001: A Space Odyssey." Paulin died on June 13, 2009. His works are still being made and sold at auctions.