CDW Review
As far as birthdays go, this was a pretty epic one.
A street party–cum–exhibition–cum–networking
event to rival all others, Clerkenwell Design
Week brought about the sunshine and the
design gravitas that we all crave.What used to be a casual meander through the
streets of Clerkenwell is now a full-blown sprint.
Over the years we have seen a steep incline in
talent and creativity, with exhibitors upping their
game to offer its designer audience a taste of real
innovation. Fringe events and installations offer
not just something for visitors to marvel at, but a
deeper understanding of how brands, suppliers
and designers can come together to produce
altogether more impressive concepts for the
future of design.
Within the tents and buildings, design brands
and innovators provided intelligent and thought-
provoking ideas and realities. Down in the House
of Detention, Gwendoline Porte Design presented
Rails, a sculptural/furniture hybrid inspired by the
form of railway tracks. Gwendoline has created
a system of simple rail shapes that offer endless
formations. Trouping Colour was also down in the
cells and it was the work of 9191 that caught our
eye and no doubt, the eyes of others. The silicon
Skin Stools have to be seen, and touched, to be
believed. We’re now waiting to see the kinds of
interior settings they pop up in...
Outside and in the glorious spring sunshine,
BottleHouse™ served to continue to highlightour war on plastic as worthless waste. The
BottleHouse™ creates ‘bricks of the future’ using
disregarded plastic bottles and transforming
them into building blocks. Small | Six miles Across
London Ltd and WSP Design Studio are the teams
taking action on wastefulness.
Over at the BENOY Studio on Monkwell Square,
BENOY and Ceramiche Piemme, which recently
opened its London headquarters, offered up a
discussion panel about the revival of tiles and their
return to architecture. Michaelis Boyd featured
over at British Collection in a collaboration
with Forest to Home, the makers of conscious
residential furniture. Designed by Michaelis Boyd
considers the dovetail as the focal point of a
defining piece of furniture. Here the designers
have created pieces from a restricted palette
of natural oak, marble and metal, which can be
customised however needed.
Office Blueprint was one of the many office
furniture suppliers inside Design Fields, and this
stand was a breath of fresh air – literally. NAAVA
is the next step in the living wall that purifies air
with brilliant quality and without all the constraints
of previous living walls. Soil-less growth, mobility
and improved purification ensures that many an
office will be boasting NAAVA very soon. In the few
minutes I stood within its aura, I felt lifted and like I
could breathe easy.
Over on Dallington Street Bisley had flung open
its doors to present BOB the modular storage
and display system, but it wasn’t just BOB’s formCelebrating CDW
CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK THREW THE VERY BEST BIRTHDAY
PARTY AS SHOWROOMS, POP-UPS AND INSTALLATIONS ALL
JOINED IN TO WISH THE EVENT MANY HAPPY RETURNS ON ITS
10 -YEAR ANNIVERSARY. WORDS BY JADE TILLEY.that was catching the eyes of passers-by, Future
Designs had an art installation in its Clerkenwell
VR Facility. ROBOTS at Clerkenwell Lighthouse
presented ‘Peep Show’ designed by Giles Walker.
Here we saw a unique display of robotic dancers,
integrated with Future Design LED Lighting.
Was it a controversial commentary on life under
surveillance? Perhaps. Or more simply, an
eye-catching demonstration of tech in the ‘real’
world? You decide...
Dallington Street really was a hive of activity this
year, with the Morgan showroom showcasing two
new collections as well as holding a series of talks
throughout the event. A panel talk on redefining
and curating hotel art and the hospitality scene
beyond the Instagram filter drew much attention,
all set against the backdrop of David Shillinglaw’s
installation ‘Alive in the Human Hive’, a colourful,
large-scale piece of art that shone from the inside
out onto the streets of CDW.
Decade was the cherry on top of the design
cake, a cake festooned with candles. Its four
artists/designers highlighting the brilliance
of CDW on its 10th anniversary, as a place of
innovation and collaboration with their specially
designed candles that stood proud along the
exhibition route. Reflecting its history, essence of
brand, understanding of materiality and overall
celebration of design, EBBA Architects, Parkside,
Billi UK and Hakwood were to thank for these
symbolic sculptures.
Clerkenwell Design Week has a ripple affect on
the industry, it’s vibrancy and creativity lasting
beyond its official exhibition days, the shock of pink
streaked across Clerkenwell now imprinted in our
minds as we return to our desks and reflect on the
design delights that were witnessed during the
three-day event.
The 2019 edition proving that CDW really is
a jolly good fellow and so say all of us!http://www.clerkenwelldesignweek.com
T: @cdwfestival
I: @clerkenwelldesignweek
#CDW2019 #CDWGoodwood and Rakino, http://www.morganfurniture.co.ukOn track, http://www.gwendolineporte.design