London Design Festival 2014 has landed with design shows scattered across the capital over a two week period, including Tent, 100% Design, Decorex, Design Junction & Focus. Whatever your taste there are products here for you to fall in love with. I attended a constant favourite of mine 100% Design and tried Design Junction for the first time.
Blond wood and Skandi lines are still strong in furniture, with lots of retro inspired fabrics popping up at both shows. The stand out element to me was the return of the independent craftsman with some divine and quirky products on show. It really is a joy to talk to the designers and hear their passion for their products, which is reflected in their work.
It is these products that still linger in my mind and I’m going to share them with you here.
A sense of humor is very important and I really love it in design. Mineheart “King Edison Pendant Lamp” (top below) with doll’s house chandeliers in a glass shade is both adorable as well as amusing. My decadent side was taken with the stunning “Babylon Brutale Pendents” by Martin Huxford (bottom below) with their opulent shape and finish which shouts retro glamour.
Structures produced two of my favourite products the “WAaf Lamp” (top below) which is a poseable dog table lamp and the stunning “Wish Origin” (bottom below) which consists of a bendable lampstand with detachable dandelion like fibre optic head. Both lights left a smile on my face and possibly a future dent in my wallet.
Furniture is always a tricky area to find something that stands out from the everyday, however Paul Case’s “Vetro Drinks table” using wood and glass did just that. The lovely Catherine Aitkens “Fade Stool” & “Hexaform Side Table”, are simple, elegantly crafted and beautiful.
I loved the tactile DENT chair available from Inform which is a veneered chair that looks like a crumpled piece of paper. It comes in some fantastic shades.
My top pick for seating is Edit Szabo “Tame Fox” & “Tame Bear” stools which have a lovely organic sculptural shape based on their name sakes. The Foxes can snuggle together to create larger arrangements and as they’re ceramic, they can be used outside as well.
On the softer side Nat Maks “Zhivago” fabric and wallpaper is bold and striking and is used on shades, chairs, walls, upholstery and cushions to great effect.
Finally for the finishing zing, I was delighted to see Minalima who do the graphics for countless movies, including the Harry Potter franchise. Alongside that they run Woopstudios who produce these alphabet graphic prints which such tags of “B – A Cete of Badgers” and “A – A Host of Angels.”
If you have any more wall space left then make room for the whimsical prints from Magma with Sophie Augusta’s “Dragon Dance” and “Where we Belong” by Dan-ah Kim.
It takes great products to build great rooms and I feel spoilt by the choice I saw at the shows. As I shuffle my countless brochures away I hold a bubble of excitement for the anticipation of using these new products in my future design
