Since 2003, the annual London Design Festival has celebrated the city as the design capital of the world. We preview some of the products to be seen at various locations from 15-23 September
Gleda Medium Chair by Benchmark
Looking as if it was highly influenced by the furniture of Jean Prouvé and designed by Space Copenhagen, the Gleda is crafted in solid oak with spindle back and patinated brass touches and either wool or leather cushion finishes. It’s available in low- and high-backed versions, with or without arms. Smooth and curvy, the Gleda offers some turn of the century craftsmanship combined with a contemporary look and feel.
100% Design, Stand L320
Babu chair by Toru Barcelona
Young Spanish designer Jordi Ribaudí drew on his family’s tradition of leatherworking for a new range for his Toru Barcelona furniture brand. The Babu chair is formed of 6mm thick leather bent around itself to generate the structural component a backrest needs. And the rest, as they say, is history – even the leather’s intended to patinate over time.
London Design Fair, Stand 3.6 Hall H3
Colourplay bench 60 by &New
Created by a British-Finnish design duo Jo Wilton and Mirka Grohn, &New’s modern furniture collection is recognisable by its minimal, metal powder-coated form. The designs combine British wit and Nordic simplicity and the duo were winners of Elle Decoration’s Best British Furniture Award 2015 & Elle Deco’s International Design Awards Young Designer Talent 2016.
designjunction, Doon Street, Stand F28a
w171alma light by Wästberg
Swedish lighting company Wästberg will show its new w171 alma pendant light. Formed of delicate concentric circles, the aluminium lamp diffuses a rounded source of light while reflecting soft waves of shadow onto the ceiling. A joy of this fitting is that the ripple diffuser can be mounted on walls as well as hang from ceilings, lending it a curious, gravity-defying adaptability.
designjunction, Doon Street, Stand G8
Zig Zag lamp by Cinzel Stoneworks
New Portuguese stone product design firm Cinzel has three young female designers producing its range of lights and furniture. This one, by Cécile Mestelan, must be referencing one of her nights out on the tiles, recalling some long route back to the warm lights of her Lisbon home. Hers is a double, available in black or white marble.
100% Design, Stand DL15
Recycled plastic vases by Kodai Iwamoto Design
One of four young designers selected for 'Beyond the chipper’ – a part of the fair reflecting on advances being made in the world of plastics recycling – Iwamoto draws on the work of famous Edo era ceramicists but gives it a contemporary twist with his blown plastic pipe vases. Not only recycled, but perfect for your real-life ikebana.
London Design Fair, Material of the Year stand Hall 13
XS radiator by Foursteel
In a world of mediocre bathroom radiators, Portuguese firm Foursteel is forging its own geometric way with its XS range of three-dimensional triangulations made from stainless steel. Available in finishes including white and copper, it brings a bit of ‘bold’ to what’s usually just ‘bad’.
100% Design, Stand K335
Ovo chair by Erik Jørgensen
Family owned Danish bespoke furniture company Erik Jørgensen will show for the first time at designjunction with a selection of its latest collaborations including the Ovo chair by Stockholm-based British designer Damian Williamson, alongside others from its core collection. Inspired, it’s said, by hand-made fresh pasta languidly draped over a rolling pin, and counterpointed by the orthogonal steel base. the leather chair’s name reflects this design provenance – ‘uovo’ is Italian for egg.
designjunction, Doon Street, Stand F14
Bespoke wallcoverings by Colourgen
One’s reminded of 1970s Anaglypta in super Technicolor with the results of Colourgen’s evolution of inkjet printer technology. The firm has created a 3D bespoke wallcovering using Dimense, a wide format inkjet printer that simultaneously makes the print and structure for wallcoverings and other design applications. This one-pass process keeps costs low.
100% Design, Stand EB4
One-off furniture by Kate Noakes
British designer and maker Kate Noakes creates beautifully made one-off pieces of metal veneered furniture, inspired by Victorian industrial design and 18th and 19th century art and interiors. Since launching her first collection at the LDF in 2012, she has worked with interior designers and clients in Europe and America.
100% Design, Stand EB77