mydeco’s guide to London Design Festival 2011

The countdown to London Design Festival began in earnest this week at mydeco HQ! In only two (hopefully short) days, we will be traveling across London to witness the world’s best design talent showcase their new collections.

Last year, the mydeco team spent the week rushing round London, sprinting from 100% to Cockpit, from Origin to Decorex, from Tent to The Tramshed… phew, I’m puffed out just thinking about it!

Oh, AND we hosted our very own lighting exhibition at Tom Dixon’s Dock – a fabulous venue to showcase the eclectic range of lighting designs mydeco boutique is home to.

Peekaboo! Our Editor Ellie at The Dock:

This year’s London Design Festival will be bigger and better. With many of our boutiquers getting in touch with their LDF whereabouts – from shared exhibition space to individual pop-up shops and master classes – I’ve finally had to admit I can’t be in every place at once. So mydeco has paired up with the lovely team at Crane TV who will be sharing their LDF videos with us. Cheers guys!

As well as our own mydeco boutique roundup of events I’ll be able to bring you interviews with the likes of David Chipperfield at the Southbank Centre, the Bouroullec Brothers at the V&A, Max Lamb for Gallery Fumi, and many more.

David Chipperfield exhibiting at Tent London last year:

So, if you’re stuck at work, stuck with the kids, stuck in Scotland or anywhere far, far away from the London Design Festival, keep an eye on mydeco for the LDF best bits.

These are my must-see picks of London Design Festival 2011:

100% Design: 22-25 September @ London’s Earls Court

100% Design draws in the most contemporary creative talent from all over the world. It is by far one of the best events for finding out what or who will be the next big thing. I expect to see two of my favourite mydeco boutique designers there: Lorna Syson with her range of handmade textile cushions and wall flowers, as well as our lighting specialists Design Instinct with their range of unique and tactile interlocking whorl lamps.

Tent London: 22-25 September @ The Old Truman Brewery

Celebrating its 5th birthday this year, Tent London is one of the largest trade shows appearing at LDF and is probably my favourite!  Amongst all the gorgeous new home designs, the event also hosts guest speakers. One of the most exciting to feature in this year’s show is the exuberant design legend Patrizia Moroso, of Italian furnishing company Moroso.

Image clipped from melanieporter.co.uk

Featuring in this year’s show are boutiquers Design Bark and Melanie Porter. mydeco’s boutique guru discovered Design Bark at last year’s Tent, and we’re hoping to find just as great talent at this year’s show.

And if you don’t spot Melanie somewhere at LDF this year then you must be walking round with your eyes closed. The queen of knit has created a bespoke chair for Natuzzi which will be on show at their Tottenham Court Road store between 17-25 September before flying off to Italy, and she’s currently knitting mannequins to be displayed in the window of Wolf&Badger on Ledbury Road for a month.

‘They should be super cool, with long trailing fingers and feet and necks that stretch up to the ceiling,’ she told me. ‘As you can see I’m super busy and it’s all very exciting!’

Origin: 22-28 September @ Spitalfield Market

Billed as the ‘Contemporary Craft Fair’, Origin houses quality handmade designs by the world’s finest craftsman. This year the show has partnered with upmarket department store Liberty, who will be designing five new window displays curated by Liberty’s buying manager for home & gift, Michelle Alger.

Decorex International: 25 to 28 September 2011 @ The Royal Hospital Chelsea

Decorex has come a long way since opening in 1978. Back then it had just 39 exhibitors – fast-forward to today and that number has grown to almost 300.

This exclusive event is intended for professionals only, catering for interior designers with high-end clients. Organisers have also hand-picked each exhibitor, ensuring only the most inspirational and quality designers are featured. So if you are lucky enough to be an interior designer with some very exclusive clients, expect to see quality craftsmanship and designers that are fast creating a buzz.

The Tramshed: 22 to 25 September 2011 @ Rivington Street, Shoreditch

mydeco’s autumn/winter Utilitarian trend featuring Plant & Moss

Launched just last year, The Tramshed aims to offer something different from the conventional trade show (i.e. a cool location, a cool vibe, and only the coolest product).  Supported by the Society of British Interior Design, the event hosts a series of talks on prominent design issues and invites only the most innovative names in design to showcase their work.

mydeco received our invite to have a look-see only yesterday, and who do we see on the back? Plant & Moss from mydeco boutique highlighted smack in the middle. The Tramshed ask us to see the design duo’s  Premier Collection, and says ‘the desire for quality is back’. See you there!