Having written an article for the Clerkenwell Post about the ‘masterplan’ for 2016’s Clerkenwell Design Week, confessions of a design geek editor Katie Treggiden was better placed than most to navigate the new ‘spine’ layout of this year’s festival, so forewarned and forearmed, she set out to explore the show, and here she reports back with her findings…
With the loss of the Farmiloe Building – previously the hub of Clerkenwell Design Week and now slated for redevelopment – the festival was clearly going to need a rethink. Show director William Knight commissioned local architecture firm OMMX to come up with what was being rather grandly described as the ‘masterplan,’ which included new venues and a delineated route leading visitors from Smithfield Market in the south to Spa Fields in the north, punctuated by a series of site-specific installations such as the Hakfolly by Fleafolly Architects and Hakwood (above).
“One of the best things about Clerkenwell Design Week is discovering pockets of activity or events hosted by local businesses scattered right across the area,” said OMMX’s Hikaru Nissanke. “Moving away from a centralised hub to a new spine running the length of Clerkenwell will help to knit all of these wonderfully diverse events together and evolve the festival into something more cohesive and inclusive.” And the new route did feel more inclusive of a wider range of the creative businesses that are based in Clerkenwell year-round. With more architects per square metre than anywhere else in the world – there’s a reason this corner of London gets its own festival. Cross-disciplinary space ‘Clerkenwell London’ got involved for the first time this year and threw itself in at the deep end with a series of exhibitions and installations around the theme of Design Undefined. I curated the Fiera Edit, a selection of designs from Issue 03 of our sister publication, Fiera Magazine, that blur the boundaries between creative disciplines. The exhibition comprised work by Marta Bordes (also the 2016 winner of the confessions of a design geek bursary), Novocastrian and Katharina Eisenköck.
Another installation at Clerkenwell London was Max Fraser’s One Thing. The former deputy director of the London Design Festival asked 26 designers, design writers and entrepreneurs to name the one object that meant the most to them. These items – largely ‘undesigned’ in the typical sense of the word – were showcased, either as illustrations or underneath cloches, in a Crittal box within Clerkenwell London’s space.
The British Collection was a new exhibition for this year, where upcoming London-based designer, Liam Treanor, launched his Lowick Side Table, which features a leather shelf designed to soften and develop a unique patina as it ages. The piece is typical of Liam’s understated and carefully considered work.
‘CDW Presents’ is the name given to the site-specific installations throughout the show. Alongside Hakfolly was The Future of Design, a community project that gave GCSE students the chance to design and make a pavilion with the aim of teaching them hands-on skills and encouraging them to consider a future in the design industry.
Ahead of my visit to Romanian Design Week, it was interesting to see Romanian design brand Dizainar presenting a range of ceramics as part of Additions – the festival’s showcase of home accessories. Watch this space for more from Romanian Design Week…
Meanwhile over at Platform, an exhibition housed in a subterranean former prison to showcase new designers, I loved this contemporary collection of Jesmonite tableware from London-based design studio Yen Chen & Ya Wen, founded by the eponymous Royal College of Art graduates.
Another Clerkenwell showroom getting involved in the festival this year was Cornish furniture manufacturer MARK Product – offering Cornish ice cream and real ale alongside their latest collection. As good as the ice cream was, the highlight was Alf, a three-legged, and therefore non-wobble, chair aimed at the contract market. Designed in-house, it comes in a range of colours and is also available with four legs or as a stool.
If the ‘spine’ layout sought to be more inclusive of showrooms, the buzzing festival atmosphere on Great Sutton Street – home to many of them – was testament to its success. At carpet showroom Desso, I commissioned a stunning window installation by Foldability‘s Kyla McCallum, hosted a panel event about the role of authenticity and storytelling in contemporary interiors and curated a series of making workshops and an exhibition featuring the work of local designer makers inspired by my recent book Makers of East London. The exhibition included hand-printed wallpaper by Daniel Heath, a caned chair in progress by Rachael South, and hand-cast concrete bowls by Katharina Eisenköck.
In the heart of Clerkenwell, UK craft organisation and co-working space Craft Central offered ‘pop-up’ spaces to exciting new designers. Ted Jefferis is a Sussex-based furniture maker who lives in the forest “like a farmer lives among his fields”. Working mostly with wood and with an Elle Decoration award under his belt already, he is definitely ‘one to watch.’
And finally, the Museum of Making, curated by Pete Collard and designed by White Arkiteckter was an opportunity for visitors to try their hands at some of the crafts and making practices that Clerkenwell is famous for, with daily workshops by the Goldsmiths’ Centre, Craft Central and Thomas.Matthews.
There were times when I missed the Farmiloe Building – it used to be the natural hub for shared lunches and impromptu meetings, and I missed the familiarity of knowing where my favourite designers would be exhibiting. But in exchange, I rediscovered parts of Clerkenwell I hadn’t visited for years and was rewarded with surprises and unexpected encounters. The new layout certainly works better for showrooms, and given time to get used to it, I suspect it will work better for visitors too.
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- Pick Me Up showcases new graphic artists
- Iceland’s unique landscape inspires at Design March 2016
- Aalto University wins award for new cotton recycling technique
