London Design Festival 2012, Part 3 of 3.
Part 3 of 3: Tent, Superbrands, Decorex, Creativeworks . Design week was nearly over, so on the closing Saturday I tried to squeeze in a few more events; which lead me east to the partnered Tent and Superbrand event. The location was split by the newer, smaller, designer/maker stands at Tent and then the Superbrands was just that; premium high end products and brands.
X3 had 3 designers quarantined inside a perspex workshop, each designer had 1 day to make a chair using the same selection of tools and materials the cube had to offer. Alex Hellum, Sam Weller and Jack smith.
The chairs are due to be auctioned off for charity – UK Youth. To see the finished pieces and fins more about the project click here.
One luxury brand that caught my eye was Sé they’re London based but have a very European feel with their collection.
Tent supplied a great section of young inspirational design, with a strong direction towards, craftsmanship, true to materials and sustainable design.
Cozy Shelter by Lambert Kamps, created a cozy igloo like space that can be coiled up and taken away.
I also really loved the way the different zones were separated at Tent, I really loved this simple graphic room divider for the press office.
Then in to the atmospheric Super Brands Library, where I bumped into Erik Griffioen who I exhibited with back in 2012 at Milan with DesignersBlock.
I love these captivating brass mirrors/wall art by Nishimura Ishou some great images on their website.
More, hands on designing, with this mini 5sqm design workshop created and used during the show by JailMake.
These knitted gems seem to have caught every bloggers eye, by Claire-Anne O’Brien, her work has really evolved from her last Knit Stools collection; and I want the Feadan ottoman!
Designk have increased their quirky collection with tea cup side tables.
Kimu Design has a whole collection of beautiful lights derived from their ‘Line project’. The mix of traditional and technology; lustre of metal against the matt texture of the paper, combines current trends but still maintains its Taiwanese routes. One to watch.
Venus of Cupertino, I’m not sure Jonny Ive could have envisioned this Ipad charging doc, when he first put pen to paper. Her plum bosom was quite hypnotic though.
I was drawn towards the Bath School Of Art and Design stand, by these little bowls. They were hand woven by Samuel Onyechi, he created them by stripping electrical wiring and the weaving the removed colourful insulation, before heat molding the textile into bowls. Their iridescent quality and fragility give them value far beyond their base material.
W&Q of Cargo Collective, great selection of colour and shape.
Bravo with some tactile, modular storage.
Dennis Parren CMYK light, mesmerizing.
Then to DECOREX:
Decorex is more of a location for high end traditional interiors, I was there for work, sourcing; but I still had one eye on design and innovation for the blog.
I really liked the simplicity of Copper and Silks Stand, a lighting company that let their products do the talking.
Unlike the Andrew Martin Stand which was straight out of Prometheus; quite litterally.
Le Deun Luminaires, had some eye-catching LED lights; some of the first LED lights I’ve seen that are actually nice!
The Art Deco revival is still very much in force.
These Margo Selby, used a great commination of 2013 colour trends.
Crafted, a mentorship program developed by Walpole. Eight participants with products ranging from furniture and textiles to ceramics and silverware, really stood out among some of the mass produced gaudiness of other stands.
Pointillist paint brushes on the Little Greene stand.
The Last but not least, Creative Works London.
I just managed to get to the launch at City Hall of Creativeworks London, the AHRC funded Hub for the Cultural and Creative Industries.
As well as mingling with London business creative there was a fantastic view of Tower Bridge.
And then LDF was done for another year and I only managed to scratch the surface of all the events, I would have loved to have seen Designersblock on the South Bank and seen more of Designjunction.
Relieved I made it back to the UK in time and inspired for future projects, now I must stop blogging and get sketching!
