Hackney designers to show at Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell Design Week takes place 22-24 May. Illustration: Luke Fenech
Rubbing shoulders with the City of London and historical Holborn, EC1 will play host to Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW) between 22 – 24 May.
The three-day event will involve a cross-section of design companies and studios, from home grown start-ups to international design stars. The world of product and furniture design, interiors, and architecture will be flinging open its (well-considered) doors, exhibiting new products and holding workshops and talks across Clerkenwell.
Big name participators include The Atkinson Group, Desso, Forbo, and Haworth. However, it is amongst the open studios and fringe events that real treasures can be unearthed.
Homeware designer Haidée Drew’s new range of beautifully cut mirrors, to be exhibited at Craft Central’s open studios, are produced in Hackney Wick, where she works overlooking the Olympic site. Potter Jo Davies, based at Stoke Newington’s Chocolate Factory, will be showcasing her simple and clean-lined porcelain.
Now in its third year, Clerkenwell Design Week will not only allow the public to see the cogs working in some of Britain’s leading design studios, but will give access to EC1 buildings not usually open to the public. The Farmiloe Building (a former lead and glass merchants’ warehouse) and The House of Detention (a subterranean Victorian prison) will play host to events over the three day show.
Andrew Platt, founder of Dealerward, a company designing and making bespoke furniture for businesses, says ‘I doubt that there is any other area in the country that has so many design-led businesses on its compass. It’s a huge benefit to the area that it shows off its wares annually, telling the rest of the world what talents and products are based here’.
CDW will also engage with the area’s theatrical past by commissioning Aberrant Architecture, a multi-disciplinary art studio, to devise a travelling pop-up theatre.
Drawing from the area’s cultural history and exhibiting some of the most innovative design brands around, Clerkwenwell Design Week places London at the heart of design.
For more go to Clerkenwell Design Week.