This article was published 13 years
Okay, okay, so I know London Design Festival finished almost a month ago, so this is the last one I promise! (No such promises re interviews with the designers that took part though I’m afraid – those are going to keep coming for some time yet!) But I couldn’t conclude my coverage of LDF13 without including mention of designersblock – always one of my favourite shows and always full of surprises. Here are a few of the things that caught my eye (left to right, top to bottom):
- This year saw designersblock take over even more of the Southbank Centre creating a real buzz in this fabulous location and bringing more of the festival south of the river!
- I spotted Xiaoqi Zhang’s Collective Memory Ceramics at the Central Saint Martin’s graduate show earlier this year. They are inspired by the shared memories of toys, favourite snacks or the ritual habits of younger consumers in China.
- I loved Welsh designer Miriam Jones‘ wooden kitchenware decorated with electric wire, giving them an unexpected flash of colour and texture.
- The New English is an old favourite at designersblock, and always comes up with something fun – this time it was mugs on heads and plates on mannequins – of course!
- It’s the interactive elements of London Design Festival that really bring design to life and I loved Camilla Barnard‘s pop-up workshop with the sign “I’ve got wood. What do you want me to do with it?” When I passed by she’d made everything from a sheet of A4 paper to a juice carton from wood!
- One of my favourite finds at the whole of London Design Festival, epitomising what I call “niche geekery,” was Rosanne Bannister‘s concrete containers – the copper, brass and silver lids of which are decorated with designs from manhole covers! It doesn’t get much geekier than that – and I love them!
- Last but not least Jane Crisp was showing The Trug, Fruit and Egg baskets and A Family of Milking Stools as part of a project called Three Years in the Making. I’d say it was worth the wait!
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- out and about :: tent london
- out and about :: imprint
- out and about :: ldf13 at the v&a
- out and about :: god is in the detail
This article was published 13 years
