October, 2009
Autumn is a busy time for many reasons, holidays are out of the way and the onset of winter puts people in the mood to get busy. It is the start of the new academic year, the new parliamentary session, business moves into the all-important ‘fourth quarter’ and the festive season is just around the corner. It is the prime time for trade shows where buyers stock up on what they think they will sell in the coming months.
This year I attended Maison et Objet, Top Drawer, Tent, Designer’s Block, the Autumn Fair, The Dock, Origin, Ysh and 100% Design. It looks like too much to take in, but each show is different, and although some companies are represented at more than one, each show has its own personality, strengths and weaknesses.
Maison et Objet – this show is within easy reach by Eurostar and if you know what you are doing you could cover it in a day, but why waste the chance of spending a night in Paris. Maison is on a grand scale, but the halls are close together and the exhibitors are grouped sensibly so it is possible to get round quite quickly. It is the premier show with a high proportion of overseas exhibitors, but French companies dominate, which isn’t surprising as this is France and the French lead the world in this arena.
There is a good British contingent and I have always found British companies exhibiting abroad much more approachable than they are at home, so that in itself is a good reason to go.
100% Design – having missed a couple of years, several people made the comment ‘It’s not as good as it used to be’ before I visited this year, and after my visit I had to agree. There is nothing wrong with the show, it’s professional, in a good venue with the right exhibitors, but it had a sterile, showroom feel whereas the other shows are better differentiated.
Designersblock – this show is held at the same time as 100% Design in an adjacent space and the catalogue blurb explains better than I can why, ‘... working with building owners to effectively utilise transitional spaces ... this approach provides the best possible platform for ... progressive design and new ideas’.
There are no exhibitions stands provided and the layout can be best described as freeform with a strong market feel, the organisers attracted some very interesting exhibitors and I definitely give it the thumbs up.
Top Drawer – this show has been around for a few years and it is a venue where people do business. This may be due to the organisers’ more careful selection of audience, but at this year’s show exhibitors clogged the aisles taking orders from customers. There was a good mix of exhibitors well zoned for browsing convenience and they ranged from very established companies to start-ups who could only just scrape up the fee.
Origin – this show is billed as ‘The London Craft Fair’, and all credit to the organiser, as that is exactly what it is. If you want to see the best craft-based work by sensible and commercially minded artisans this is the place to go. The space is limited, although the destination – Somerset House – is great, and the show is split over two dates, such is the demand for exhibitor space.
The Dock - This was a show with a difference, a great bit of puff for Tom Dixon and a brilliant bit of promotion by the property developer Derwent London. I now know a lot more about Mr Dixon and was tempted by Derwent’s canal side properties. Does that sound a bit limp? It is not meant to; as I think it is great when various common interests coincide to give designers more opportunity to show their work. It was a great show attracting top tier designers exhibiting in some very attractive space.
Tent London – this has to be the shabbiest venue in town (the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane) and the least imposing, with the entrance through what looked to me to be a side door in a warehouse, yet it worked brilliantly. Whether by design or accident this show was a success in the sense that there was a good balance between commercialism and the promotion of new and interesting design.
YSH – Slightly off the beaten track at Westbourne Studios, Ysh London provided space for ten textile and fashion based young designers. This was a show on a modest scale but nonetheless it attracted some brilliant up and coming designers. Apart exhibitors there are advantages to the Westbourne Studios’ space, a full-time bar and large seating area.
10 February, 2010
Designer's Index
As a practising designer and artist with many years’ experience, I feel qualified to say that I do actually know a lot about art, and I certainly know what I like. As far as I am concerned, if something falls into the category of ‘design’ rather than ‘art’, then it has to satisfy certain basic criteria, even if it strays into the new area of ‘design art’.
When I look at a designed object, the first question I ask myself is, ‘Do I want one of these?’, and if the answer is ‘Yes’, then I ask the question, ‘ Would I pay good money for this?’.
Let me explain ‘Do I want one?’ first. The piece in question has to be more than just an object of desire, regardless of how cool or sensual it might appear. It has to have a resonance, a timbre and a significance beyond its functionality. For me, this is more than simply ‘wanting’.
‘Would I pay good money for this?’ is the second hurdle. As I am browsing, I am not thinking whether or not I can afford the price tag. Instead, I am considering whether I feel it represents value, be it simply in aesthetic terms or in the quality of the materials and manufacture, in other words, is it fit for purpose? 
| Julia Lohmann |
| Fabrica |
| Jeroen Verhoeven |
| Joep van Lieshout |
| Joris Laarman |
| Luc Merx |
| Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe |
| Sebastian Brajkovic |
| Stephen Richards |
| Tord Boontje |
| Wieki Somers |
| WOW |
| Troika |
| 100% Design |
| Designersblock |
| Maison et Objet |
| Origin |
| Tent London |
| The Dock |
| Top Drawer |
| YSH |
Artists Index
Exhibition Review
June 6, 2006
If you only know a little about me it should come as no surprise that I think in pictures and having spent my time so far as a conceiver and visualiser of ideas, then painting, photography and generally making marks on surfaces is my natural medium.
As a synaesthete, I find that landscapes, interior spaces and natural forms can change into abstract, ambiguous and tantalizing shapes, similar to the process I use for solving problems for clients.
It is also refreshing to explore all the digital tools now available to creatives and it is no coincidence that these voyages of exploration often result in helping to take clients in new directions and to try new techniques.
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