Soft-Modern Design Finds at London Design Festival

 

The London Design Festival takes place in September debuting some of the world's most cutting-edge, cleverly designed art pieces, furniture, fabrics, surfaces and housewares.   I'll be in London covering the event and in the days leading up to it, I'll give you a sneak peek at some my favorite design finds. For this particular blog posting,  I curated pieces that spoke to me as fitting complements to the soft-modern aesthetic. These pieces will be on display in The Brompton Design District. (The massive London Design Festival features five design districts in the weeklong event)

 

The store Mint is showcasing a curated collection called Cabinets of Curiosity, inspired by curiosity and wonder featuring collaborations with renowned Czech gallery Křehký, Svensk Form, and Established & Sons showing new work by Ingo Maurer and Jo Nagasaki.

[caption id="attachment_1912" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Cabinets of Curiosity at Mint[/caption]

This contemporary interpretation of a table with its warm wood slab and cool metal base exemplifies a soft-modern style where raw materials trump glitz, bling and over-the-top decor for simple, subtle, soothing design.

[caption id="attachment_1914" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Cabinets of Curiosity at Mint[/caption]

Also at Mint, I was drawn to the white textured slats that artistically encase this piece, again very raw and sensory driven design.  A walk about the Brompton Design District leads to several Pop Up shops that showcase the works of emerging designers, artists and craftspeople to a larger international audience.

[caption id="attachment_1893" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Works from Issue No. 1 by Designers Laetitia de Allegri and Eva Feldkamp[/caption]

Designers Laetitia de Allegri and Eva Feldkamp  are collaborating on the exhibit Issue No. 1 featuring a new series of works as well as past projects. I admire how the designers were able to mold polished marble into a billowy magazine holder coaxing the cold material of stone into a warm, welcoming form.

 

[caption id="attachment_1892" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Works from Issue No. 1 by Designers Laetitia de Allegri and Eva Feldkamp[/caption]

The designers playfully present another interpretation of the same design, slick, modern and bright.

This work by Designer Eva Feldkamp relies on raw string tied to glossy tear drop medallions to create subtle gradations of texture as a soft-modern interpretation of design. 

[caption id="attachment_2244" align="aligncenter" width="135"] Drop by Eva Feldkamp[/caption]

I singled out independent designers Catherine Aitken, Ariane Prin, and Pia Wustenberg for their juxtaposition of time-honed craft making techniques married with new design thinking.

[caption id="attachment_1875" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Fade Stool by Catherine Aitken to début at the London Design Festival[/caption]

 

Catherine Aitken is a textile designer who explores the contrast between hardness and softness, heaviness and lightness in her furniture designs. One of her latest works to début at the London Design Festival is the Fade Stool as part of the Material Subconscious exhibition at the Gore Hotel.

[caption id="attachment_1877" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Fade Stool, Catherine Aitken, 2013[/caption]

Material Subconscious showcases design lead pieces with an affiliation to traditional craftsmanship and sensitivity to materials and processes. Featured designers include Attua Apricio, Iain Howlett, Hina Thibaud, Marina Dragomirova, Meret Probst, Pia Wustenberg, Sarah Colson, SmithMatthias, and Yoav Reches.

[caption id="attachment_2241" align="aligncenter" width="437"] Buzz by Hina Thibaud[/caption]

Ariane Prin is an award-winning product designer using a creative water fountain method to paint water cups from drizzle pan above.

[caption id="attachment_1881" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Fountain Water Cups created by Designer Ariane Prin to début at the London Design Festival[/caption]

The end result is a nuanced and original water cup— each with its own distinct markings much like an artistic fingerprint.

[caption id="attachment_1879" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Fountain Water Cups by Designer Ariane Prin[/caption]

Pia Wustenberg uses a juxtaposition of materials, surfaces, textures and colors to create mixed media narrative objects—those with a story to tell. Using paper, glass, ceramic and wood, Pia creates original works such as these in her company Utopia and Utility.

[caption id="attachment_2242" align="aligncenter" width="437"] Memory Objects by Pia Wüstenberg[/caption]

For more sneak peeks at my curated design finds at the London Design Festival, check back daily.