The wristband was for entry to the show apparently... hmmm
Adjacent to Old Street (London’s Creative Hub); Clerkenwell is one of the coolest areas of London. It’s Victorian warehouse buildings are home to over 60 showrooms and a number of architectural and creative practices. It is London’s perfect location to host an international festival that celebrates all disciplines of design.
This years festival was the second annual celebration and was host to over 150 events as well as a series of pop up exhibitions, installations, talks, performances allowing Studios and designers to showcase their newest line up.
The centre of the exhibition was the Farmiloe building, a great space which was once the home of Victorian lead and glass merchants. The exhibition it housed had some exciting new concepts from producers great and small. Jaguar, the lead sponsor of the event, had a their newest concept car, the CX-75, on display next to a clutch of new anglepoises and some furniture from Nigel Coates.
It was beautiful, and not my normal style at all
One of the most striking pieces in the exhibition was from Ochre, a fantastic LED chandelier produced from glass tear drops and gold leaf. Set against a large aged mirror it fitted the gritty warehouse setting perfectly and was striking against a back drop of retro modernist furniture on the floors below.
There were a number of themes that ran through the exhibition from sustainability to design education (two themes that are close to my heart). On the design education front it seems that inspiring children whilst they are still at school and the teaching of solid basic craft skills, like the joining of timber and are really important and lead to a fully rounded designer rather than teaching “design”, that comes later. One logo that cropped up on several times was that of Buckinghamshire New University, who have over recent years contributed a significant number of designers to the Clerkenwell scene.
All in all CDW was an interesting and enjoyable place to view emerging talent, new products and some genuinely interesting pieces. There were some great networking opportunities and the CPD’s, especially the trend watching one by Style Sight, were really informative. Heres to another good year of design and an even better festival next year.
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