New Design Gallery in London

A new design gallery showcasing socially responsible design has opened in Soho coinciding with London Design Festival. The new gallery located at 19 Greek Street has been established by Marc Péridis, creative director of design studio Montage. The design collection features furniture from Brazil which has been curated by US specialists Espasso plus pieces by designers including Studiomama and Australian collective Supercyclers.

On the lower ground level is a screening room and an exhibition space featuring non-commercial works, including woven plastic chairs produced by former prisoners in Colombia for fashion house Marni.

On the first and second floors, Espasso showcases Brazilian design from the middle of the 20th century to the present day, including contemporary designers Arthur Casas and Carlos Motta.

The third floor gallery contains furniture from a number of international design studios, including pieces made from reclaimed pallets by Nina Tolstrup’s Studiomama and cardboard furniture to be used after natural disasters by Parisian studio Nocc.

Montage occupies the top floor of the Victorian townhouse alongside an exhibition space for Supercyclers, a collective of designers who seek to reuse waste materials in their work.

London Design Festival Report - "A Place to Gather"

My first stop during London Design Festival, "A place to Gather".
This show was dedicated to showcasing the design work of  Irish designers based both here and in London itself. Organised by the Crafts Council of Ireland and curated by John Legge, the show transformed an old garage in the middle of Shoreditch into a creative,small but inviting hub of contemporary Irish design. All the designs featured were very much Irish in there design, materials and how they were made. Irish Oak furniture by Simon O'Driscoll which was upholstered in Donegal Irish tweed woven my Kieran Molloy, Irish Ash used by James Carroll of Stickman furniture, Irish willow baskets and lighting by Kathleen Mc Cormack of Basketbarn and Irish linen furnishings by Jennifer Slattery brought traditional Irish craft to a contemporary stage.

London 2012 Preview

Continuing on with his metalic experimentation and lighting, Tom Dixon has created the "Lustre Pendants" which will be showcased in September at this years London Design Week. The collection of lights which exhibit an iridescent sheen which is a result of applying a specialized glaze composed of minerals and precious metals to the ceramic shades and firing them at 1200 degrees celsius. The ceramic forms of each pendant bring together lines and shapes derived from Mayan temples and the archiecture of the Art Deco period. The "Lustre Pendants' are the first ceramic designs in the studio's collection 'Luminosity' which will all be shown at London Design Week at Luminosity at the Dock. 

Tent London 2012 Preview

Tent London have produced an ever-evolving design show for six years now and this year’s upcoming September 2012 edition brings together over 200 international exhibitors from over 26 countries. With the shows content expanding each year it always remains ahead of the curve. An event not to be missed full of inspiration, showcasing the best in London Design aswel as some top Irish designers and other design from around the world including Hungary, Norway, Japan,Taiwan and The Netherlands.

This weeks preview highlights the colourful and exciting work of Yorkshire based furniture designer Anthony Hartley. Having exhibited at Tent last year it is great top see Hartley back again showcasing his bright, fresh and engaging furniture which captured the attention of .
First launching at Tent 2011 The Edna Collection is a range of oak cabinets with a single multicolored laminated ply drawers which Hartley hand sprayed and lacquered to a high gloss finish. The addition of aluminum legs takes this collection to a level that not only is fun but combines elegance and style also.

This year at Tent we will see the Core Collection being showcased. This collection of pieces are made from clean and simple MDF or ply template shapes, sprayed in Hartley’s trademark fun and engaging colour palette. The innovation comes in the joining of the templates, which uses multi-coloured cable ties to secure them, and which can be easily assembled without tools. The cable ties are incorporated as a design feature, each one is inset in a small perfect groove which reinforces the clean and simple lines of the pieces.

Claire-Anne O'Brien at TENT 2012

Irish-born designer and recent graduate from the Royal College of Art, Claire-Anne O’Brien has expanded her collection of carefully detailed knitted furniture for this years up and coming TENT Exhibition during London Design Festival. Pattern and form play a big influence in her work combined with research on traditional crafts and materials such as basket making and lace work. Inspired by elements of the knitted stitch itself such as rings and loops, these structures are revealed and celebrated through exaggerated scale into bold and textured forms. Passionate about wool, O'Brien is currently developing new fabrics using a wool made especially in a mill in Yorkshire which will then be knitted by a team of knitters around the UK and Irelan. Claire-Anne will celebrate the creativity, imagination and innovation present in Ireland today while highlighting the unique skill and craftsmanship with which Irish products are made. Tent London takes place from the 20th - 23rd of September at the Old Truman Brewery in East London.