
I love the Brompton Design District – it reminds me of the days when I would wander around the London Design Festival a little more aimlessly, following those red LDF signs with a sense of spontaneity, discovering things by accident. These days there is more planning and more time pressure involved in my LDF, but for a few hours every year I forget all about that and just meander around Brompton. I’ve already written about the V&A and Young Creative Poland, so from top to bottom, left to right, here are the other things I spotted in Brompton:
- I loved the ‘making of’ exhibition at Skandium showing the design and making processes of the Cate & Nelson teapot and the new fabric from Emma Londsdale.
- Next door Squint’s showroom in a former garage was filled with colour and pattern as always. A selection of velvet covered British furniture and accessories were being launched for LDF.
- Mint’s Cabinets of Curiosity, a collaboration with the Czech gallery, Krehky, was an absolute treat – cabinets designed by one designer, filled with curiosities designed by another:
- Dik Scheepers’ Sine Cabinet was inspired by the corrugated PVC of temporary flower sellers’ booths. The ceramics inside, Pieces Of, are also by Scheepers.
- After my own heart, Latvian designer Laima Grigone’s Towards Reciprocity ceramics are inspired by the Cornish countryside. They sit on top of Aurelie Rimbert’s Canvas Trunk, a cabinet made from canvas and white coated detailing that works as a sideboard, dresser or cupboard.
- The surface of the Havet Cabinet by Stockholm-based Snickeriet is hand-chiselled to resemble a stormy ocean at night. Inside part of Daniel Woodford’s The Beast Will Out collection reflects “a story about a girl who finds herself in a dark and mystical space with three birds”.
- Bottom middle is sculptural installation Inside Out II by Alicia Ongay-Perez.
- Either side is Daniel Amar’s wall-mounted cabinet, composed of eight wooden boxes with angled shelves that sit horizontally when the cabinet is mounted at the opposite angle. It was inspired by the work of constructivist artist Kazimir Malevich and filled with Natasha Wightman’s Drip Ceramics which were inspired by their own materials and making process.
Further reading for the especially geeky:
