30 Oct London Design Festival 2015: Highlights

Julian and Sarah headed south at the end of September for the annual London Design Festival.  Sarah takes over Tangram Talk to discuss this years highlights…

Amazing sights, products, installations, and lots and lots of people crammed into small spaces can only mean one thing – London Design Festival!  With over 300 events taking place across the city of London, it is impossible to do more than scratch the surface. Design Districts are a plenty; key for us were Design Junction, Clerkenwell and Brompton and within these three areas alone, we saw a vast array of beautiful furniture, lighting, accessories and some great installations too.

Multiplex, Old Selfridges Hotel – this was retail in a new and exciting way.  Tom Dixon’s take on how retail will work in the future.  Design, fashion, interiors, music, technology and film all came together to ensure visitors senses were assaulted; visiting the space was a real experience rather than just going to a shop.  This mix of design disciplines is being seen more and more in projects and installations.

Terence Woodgate launched the next light in their collection.  Core is as you might guess, based on using the core which is drilled out during the manufacture of the successful Solid light – an excellent use of wasted material!  Shown as a cluster arrangement the quality of light was lovely and soft and the markings of the marble stunning.  Also on show was the prototype of the new Table light which combined marble with a blown glass diffuser, simplicity and elegance at its best – a real classic before it even officially launches!

Resident – a brand we have been watching for a while now and all the way from New Zealand.  Resident this year had a big space showing lots of products, all of which we want to specify immediately!  The Spar floor light has a real personality, the Parison pendant has a soft, delicate nature whilst the Tri, Hex and Cross pendants are striking, sharp and architectural – we want them all!

Haberdashery – a London based lighting design agency – created a stunning installation within The College Building for designjunction. Their new Leaf product is a suspended canopy system and when combined with downlights, creates an amazing result. Leaves are made of bone chine and finished in a variety of metal options including gold and platinum- the resulting light, sparkle and shadow was breathtaking.  This system is fully customisable and would look brilliant in entrance halls, stairways and large public spaces.

Ligne Roset Edits Pierre Paulin – The ground floor of the Westend store was transformed into a homage to the great designer, showcasing some of his products from his sixty year career.  The iconic Daybed was shown along with the re-issue of products first shown in 1953 at the Paris Home fair ‘Salon des Arts Menagers’.  These products were designed for Pierre Paulin’s ‘ideal apartment’ and aimed at post-war households.  Manufactured in timber, these classic pieces are just as relevant today.