London Design Fair to Showcase Design from Across the Globe, with New Features, New Launches and New Talent
Event + Exhibition, Furniture, Lighting Design, Luxury, Object + Accessory, Product, Shop + Retail
The London Design Fair 2019 will present an inspirational, hand-picked line-up of superlative contemporary design, offering visitors a truly absorbing and informative experience. This highly creative exposition will once again transform the much loved Old Truman Brewery into a thrilling centre of original, innovative and aesthetic design.
Housed under one impressive roof, this year’s Fair will host an extensive range of brands, global country pavilions, and a fresh edit of new components. International design collaboration Adorno will present Crossovers, a showcase of dynamic works selected by ten curators from ten countries, in what is billed as ‘a cross-cultural collectible design journey’. Crossovers celebrates those global designers and communities around the world fighting to keep local design and craft alive.
The International Craft Pavilion will make its debut at the Fair, taking the place of the British Craft Pavilion. Established just three years ago, the British Craft Pavilion became the must-see exhibit for high-end craft during the London Design Festival. In 2019, the newly named International Craft Pavilion responds to a call for the greater global representation of craft.
An entirely new element of this year’s Fair is The Bathroom Gallery. In partnership with ELLE Decoration UK, this bespoke exhibition will spotlight some of the world’s foremost bathroom brands, including Laufen and Roca.
Now in its third year at London Design Festival, creative lighting exhibition [d]arc room has a new home at the Fair.
Old Truman Brewery
Old Truman Brewery’s second floor, [d]arc room—a creative undertaking by arc and darc magazines—understands the necessity for brands to show lighting in an imaginative way.
Using pods, lighting products will be presented in a pared down manner, helping visitors to better understand the utility of architectural and decorative lighting. In addition, ‘[d]arc room: live’ promises an amazing array of speakers, talking about a variety of lighting-related subjects. Moreover, ‘[d]arc room: workshops’ will offer an interactive, hands-on series of workshops in which participants can get to grips with the most recent issues in lighting technology.
Very much looking forward to the Fair, Jimmy MacDonald, Founder and Director of London Design Fair, remarks: ‘This year we have been exploring elements not yet adequately incorporated into the either London Design Festival or the London Design Fair. We are launching The Bathroom Gallery, a curated exhibition in partnership with ELLE Decoration UK, and we will host the [d]arc room lighting exhibit—two extremely well edited and executed trade elements. I’m also excited about Crossovers, the collectable design exhibition by Adorno: ten curators from ten countries with sixty pieces—wow!’
Brands
The London Design Fair 2019 will host an exceptional list of talented brands, both well known and recently discovered.
Described as ‘east London’s friendliest rug dealer’, FLOOR_STORY has built an enviable reputation as a maker of unique and ethically manufactured hand-knotted and hand-tufted rugs. At this year’s Fair, FLOOR_STORY will launch new designs in collaboration with Sebastian Wrong, John Booth, Kitty Joseph and Camille Walala.
Finnish design brand Made by Choice will present Kolho, a series of tables and chairs created by American artist Matthew Day Jackson in collaboration with leading surface solutions brand Formica. The series is inspired by the surface of the moon and named after the small town of Kolho in Finland, which is home to the Formica Group factory. The Kolho series plays with both plywood forms and a Formica laminate designed by Jackson, that subtly replicates the surface of the moon.
Polish design studio noo.ma works with designers to create beautiful and functional furniture pieces and accessories that accompany people throughout their day. It is the brand’s belief that our spaces impact our well-being, shaping how we perceive the world around us.
Established in 2016, Seoul-based design studio Hattern—meaning ’Happy Pattern’—is curious about colour tones and material combinations. Known for creating colourful geometric shapes from acrylic, this year Hattern has been experimenting with a terrazzo-like material made using a combination of concrete and acrylic. Hattern will use this unique material to create new products, launching exclusively at the Fair.
With its origins in Taiwan’s metalware industry, Taiwanese brand ANTOU designs and manufactures a collection of products for contemporary office environments. Viewing the office as a playground for today’s modern worker, ANTOU’s smart and sustainable office solutions are imaginative, playful and long-lasting.
New components for London Design Fair 2019
Ever evolving and seeking novel ways of presenting design to its diverse range of visitors, London Design Fair is introducing several new exciting components to the 2019 line-up.
Adorno, the online platform bridging the gap between digital gallery, marketplace and design city guide, presents Crossovers: 10 curators, 10 collections, 10 global design scenes. In this remarkable exhibition, a number of dynamic works from independent designers working in the intersection of design, art and craft, will be on show. Crossovers is a celebration of those designers and communities around the world striving to preserve and revitalise local design and craft cultures. Kristian Snorre Andersen, the CEO of Copenhagen-based Adorno, remarks: ‘The show will highlight the aesthetic traits and beauty of each scene, facilitating a cross-cultural dialogue—a dialogue that takes its departure from design, and evolves to further cultural and societal issues.’ Curators from ten countries will present collections at Crossovers. They are: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Mexico, and Turkey.
Paola Bjaringer will curate Sweden’s presentation at Crossovers. Born in Stockhom, raised in Paris and a graduate of the London School of Economics, Bjaringer opened one of the first galleries in Paris to focus exclusively on contemporary collectible design. Here, she exhibits up-and-coming designers alongside established names. One of Bjaringer’s picks for Crossovers is Stockholm-based design studio FÄRG & BLANCHE. Founded in 2010 by Fredrik Färg and Emma Marga Blanche, they will present ‘The Baker’s House’, a collection of unique lamps and tables inspired by co-founder Emma’s family history and a Kn.ckebr.d (crisp bread) factory they once owned.
Norway’s Crossovers presentation will be curated by Oslo-based creative studio Kråkvik & D’Orazio. One particularly curious feature is Slurp by designer Henrik Ødegaard. Fascinated by the empty spaces that exist between objects, Ødegaard uses only the materials he has at his disposal to create his works. Made using wood, the negative spaces found in Slurp were dictated by natural knots and defects.
Curating Switzerland’s Crossovers presentation is Davide Fornari, associate professor at ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne. He has included the Geneva-based Argentinian designer Josefina Muñoz’s Game of Stone. Here, Muñoz has expertly transformed uneven blocks of marble into a handcrafted collection of small, characterful tables.
The Bathroom Gallery is a new addition to the Fair and a collaboration with ELLE Decoration UK. A truly bespoke exhibition with some of today’s leading bathroom brands, The Bathroom Gallery will provide a highly curated insight to the features shaping modern bathrooms. The exhibition will be designed by architect and artist Ioana Lupasc. Brands will have an opportunity to transform a 20 m. space, using six options of freestanding wall configurations in a choice of colours chosen by colour communication experts Calzada Fox. The format will encourage brands to think carefully about the products they wish to display. One participating brand is the celebrated Swiss bathroom company Laufen. It will showcase The New Classic by Dutch design extraordinaire Marcel Wanders, who reinterpreted classic themes in a contemporary manner using SaphirKeramik, Laufen’s super-strong ceramic material.
Country Pavilions
London Design Fair’s country pavilions are one of the star attractions for many visitors in attendance. Confirmed country pavilions are: Barcelona Design Centre, Made in Mallorca—Balearic Islands, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Uruguay, Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council (UAE), Chile and China.
The Swedish Design Pavilion is the annual showcase for Swedish designers, studios and companies—it returns to the Fair for its fourth year. The Pavilion is organised by Malmö-based Form/Design Center in partnership with a number of agencies, including Swedish Wood and the Embassy of Sweden in London. The 2018 Swedish Design Pavilion was created by architect Karin Sundberg and was awarded Best Stand in Show at the Fair. This year’s pavilion architects and curators will be Malmö-based Förstberg Ling. Participants include Ifö Electric who will show Ohm, a lighting collection inspired by old porcelain insulators and Scandinavia Form, who will feature their Consilium and Glasilium vases.
Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council, an affiliate of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment, represents traditional and modern crafts across the MENASEA (Middle East North Africa Southeast Asia) region and Central Asia region. Empowering women professionally and socially, Irthi is developing new market opportunities and sectors for women, while delivering social development programmes and vocational training. The Council also works to preserve the skills and rich cultural heritage of the UAE. Irthi will launch its first line of products at the Fair—part of its Museum Line, the products are the result of two Irthi projects: ‘Design Labs’ and ‘Crafts Dialogue’.
Comprising eleven companies from the Balearic Islands, Made in Mallorca is a showcase for makers whose designs resonate with stories of passion found in industry, handicrafts and creative endeavours. Products such as tiles, textiles, ceramics, glass, lighting and furniture will capture the essence of Mallorca’s design sector. Made in Mallorca is an initiative of those companies involved along with a number of government agencies. One participant is Huguet, a Mallorca-based company manufacturing hydraulic floor tiles and terrazzo items since 1933.
Budapest Select is a key part of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA). Founded in 2018, HFDA works to promote and raise awareness of the benefits of Hungarian design and fashion throughout the country and beyond. Budapest Select exhibits distinctive objects that reflect the multifaceted intersection of design and art—with fresh interpretations, visitors can immerse themselves in the creative mindset of Hungarian designers. Móni Kovács’s collection of metallic textiles seeks to imitate nature. She uses the interplay between metallic and cotton threads to create a special light effect that recalls a glittering sun and shimmering water. Budapest-based Studio Nomad creates works that span across design disciplines, from small objects to larger landscape architectural projects and spatial installations. The brand’s 3LEGS table collection consists of three tables—each one is inspired by geometric patterns and architectural shapes.
Uruguay will present a consummate collection of design talent. Uruguayan design is described as simple yet sophisticated, modern and functional. By exploring different facets of identity, Uruguayan designers will seek to shine a spotlight on the country’s contemporary design scene. The Uruguay pavilion is organised by Uruguay XXI and the Chamber of Design of Uruguay, and supported by the Embassy of Uruguay in the UK.
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