September brings with it shorter days, a change of seasons, and of course, the London Design Festival.
Kicking off in the capital this week, the programme is divided over 11 "districts" – from Park Royal in north west London, down to the Greenwich Peninsula south of the river.
It's an impossible task to see everything – but that's what makes the festival so great. Unlike many design events that take place across the course of the year, London Design Festival (or LDF as it's often referred to) is as much for the general public as it is for the industry professionals.
This year, the programme is filled with cross pollination, with lots of designers taking part in each other's shows. There's a strong sense of the importance of working together, as well as being open to different routes and exploring undetermined outcomes.
It's been hard to narrow it down, but we've managed. See below for our picks, along with links to details, and a handy map of our must-sees here.
Cafe Tolerance
Mitre & Mondays
With no fixed address, Cafe Tolerance will be making its way around various points during the course of the festival, all from the back of a Rascal van. Beginning in Shoreditch, Mitre & Mondays will use their travelling exhibition as a way to showcase the concept of tolerance, both in design but in the wider social context. Coffee will be served from a custom-built table, which will open out on to the street to encourage conversation, with a live programme of workshops, recordings, and talks taking place across the course of the week. Find out more here.
Making Room
Andu Masebo & Mikey Krzyzanowski
Over in Brompton, this show brings together a stellar line up. Curated by Andu Masebo & Mikey Krzyzanowski, the "Making Room" will function as a gathering space that develops over the course of the week. Expect to see the likes of Mac Collins, Bafic, Alaska Alaska, and Seetal Solanki taking part, along with a series of workshops and talks designed to foster collaboration. Find out more here.
Reading Design
Grymsdyke Farm
Grymsdyke Farm is a research facility and so-called "experimental fabrication workshop" located in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Founded by Guan Lee, the project regularly hosts designers who are finding new ways of working with materials, and this exhibition in Brompton will present the restuls of four of them: Attua Aparicio, Marco Campardo, Glithero and Lee himself. "Reading Design highlights the relationship between how we make and the tangible references of what is made," Lee says. Find out more here.
Re Bar
Hotwire Extensions and Max Radford Gallery
Hotwire Extensions will be hosted by Max Radford Gallery over at Cromwell Place. In a show titled "Re Bar", the studio – headed up by Zurich-based Fabio Hendry – will present a new body of work that is inspired by the metal structures found within the concrete walls of buildings. Find out more here.
POWERSHIIFT
Power Out of Restriction (POoR)
Last year, POoR's first iteration of POWERSHIFT was a real highlight of the festival, so we're glad it's returning. The show will bring together artists, designers, and architects all under one roof, in a bid to shed light on some of the industry's most exciting up and comers, and show what the London design scene is really about. Find out more here.
V&A
Various Designers
Always a landmark stop on any LDF tour, the V&A plays host to a number of exhibitions during the week. This year, you can expect to see an interactive seating series by Modular by Mensah; the V&A Emerging Designer Commission by Arjun Singh Assa, Liang-Jung Chen and Angela Ford; the Craft x Tech Tohoku Project, which explores the blend of traditional Japanese craft with technology; the SIM Project, which makes use of the SIM card to bring value to virtual networks; and last but not least – the "Communion" pounding table by British-Ghanaian designer Giles Tettey Nartey, which explores the rituals of domestic life in Ghana. Find out more here.
Oku
Kathleen Reilly
Kathleen Reilly has been on our radar for some time, so it's exciting to see she has her own solo show during the festival. In Shoreditch, she will present an exhibition exploring "Oku" – the knife she created in collaboration with artisans in Tsubame-Sanjo – an area in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, renowned for its metalworking. Find out more here.
Collection Two
Relay Design Projects
Commissioning platform Relay Design Projects is setting up inside Netil House, to present its second collection of collaborative works. This cohort includes designers and studios from the UK, South Korea, and France – EBBA, HAHA studio, Jihyun Kim, Silo Studio, and Niveau Zero Atelier. Find out more here.
Blond Laboratory
Blond
Having debuted in Milan earlier this year, Blond brings its Laboratory show back to its hometown of London. The show is intended to shed light on the creative process employed by the studio's designers, and tasks external contributors with creating a new take on an object no longer in production (referred to as "Artefacts", and collected by the Blond team). Find out more here.
Proof of Concept
Various designers
10 multidisciplinary designers will present their final designs alongside process work at this Shoreditch show. Taking place from September 20-22, Proof of Concept surveys furniture, product design, ceramics, textiles, and architecture – with a peek behind the process of the likes of Daniel Schofield and Jan Hendzel Studio. It's also worth visiting the pop-up restaurant by Newcastle-based Cook House and Long Friday. Find out more here.
Off the Bench
POINT TWO FIVE
Point Two Five is a new jewellery brand based out of Birmingham, dedicated to educating their audiences on the crucial role of the city's Jewellery Quarter. "The Jewellery Quarter produces 40% of all the jewellery made in the UK, however, the number of jewellers in the area is on the decline, and as it becomes an increasingly popular place to live, rents are rising," they say. To draw attention to their cause, they've invited international designers and artists (all of whom haven't created jewellery before) to design a wearable piece. The line-up will feature Theodora Alfredsdottir, Wendy Andreu, Sebastian Bergne, Daniel Eatock, Harry Grundy, Jamie Wolfond, and Studio 0.25. Find out more here.
Chair of Virtue
Various designers
Chair of Virtue is a submission-based exhibition taking place at One Hundred Shoreditch. It's quite a simple concept really: designers who are based in the UK were able to submit their chairs to be put on show for the duration of the festival. Last year's iteration showcased some exciting pieces from the likes of Jesse Butterfield and Thomas Wheller, so we're looking forward to see who gets selected this time around, and hoping it points us in the direction of some new names. Find out more here.
Design Everything
Kindred
Cultural hub and record store Kindred is set to undergo a makeover, courtesy of 19 designers. Each has chosen from a list of objects that Kindred felt the space would benefit from, and had total creative control over what they produced. "They were encouraged to engage with the working space and community ethos of Kindred through collective creativity and social interactions," organisers Design Everything say. Find out more here.
Toogood Openhouse
Faye Toogood
Who doesn't love a good nosy? Lucky for us, Faye Toogood is actively encouraging you to come and have a snoop at the studio's new space, located in Camden. During Toogood Openhouse, and alongside the prototypes and experiments, the studio will also present a new series of GUMMY designs that are part of the Assemblage 08: Back and Forth collection. Find out more here.
Protest by Design
Praxis
This year, the "Dalston Stokey Design District" makes its debut. One of the shows on the map, "Protest By Design" presents many ways in which visual culture relates directly to public space, freedom of speech, and change-making. Activist art and objects of protest will be accompanied by artist-led workshops, screenings and talks. Find out more here.
Vert
Diez Office, OMC°C & AHEC
It wouldn't be LDF without a showstopper commission, and this year – the honor was given to Diez Office. In collaboration with OMC°C & AHEC, the studio has created "Vert" – a structure-cum-living ecosystem created from red-oak glulam filled with around 20 plant species. Head to the grounds of Chelsea College of Art to see it, and find out more here.
Off the Shelf
Rio Kobayashi, Webb Yates & Cynthia Fan
This show is one Sabine Marcelis herself told us she was most excited for. We're in agreement – Rio's work is always exciting, and never disappoints. Off the Shelf marks the designer's first large-scale installation, and has been created in collaboration with Webb Yates, and featuring sculptures by Cynthia Fan. Presented at Olympia, it's a bit of a trek, but it will be worth it – we assure you. Find out more here.
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