Lee Broom Picks the Best of London Design Festival Inline

  • london design
    Photo: Ruth Ward / Courtesy of LDF
    1/13

    Design Junction—A Child’s Dream

    “A Child’s Dream was a project featured at Design Junction, where 21 world-renowned designers, including Zandra Rhodes, Sir Kenneth Grange, Neri Hu, and myself, were asked to customize the iconic Eames Elephant. The result was a playful presentation from hand-painted stripes to my own liquid printed faux-marble elephant. The project also raised money for Teddy’s Wish to aid research into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).”

  • london design
    Photo: Courtesy of LDF
    2/13

    Somerset House—“My Grandfather Tree” by Max Lamb

    “The exhibition put on by fellow British designer Max Lamb was a tribute to his grandfather and an old ash tree that had been growing on his farm in Yorkshire. When the tree started to rot, Max wanted to preserve its history, so he worked with a tree surgeon to cut the tree at regular intervals, using the cut pieces as stools or tables. A collaboration with Gallery Fumi, it was a poetic presentation and a personal one.”

  • london design
    Photo: Courtesy of LDF
    3/13

    Multiplex by Tom Dixon

    “Tom Dixon presented Multiplex at the Old Selfridges Hotel, a department store of tomorrow. The show brought together design, technology, fashion, film, and interiors to explore how the future of retail might look, sound, smell, taste, and feel. It was an epic presentation with just the right mix of brands from different disciplines to create a complete multisensory experience.”

  • london design
    4/13

    Factory cohosted by The Future Laboratory with Benchmark and 1882 Ltd.

    “Factory was a show cohosted by The Future Laboratory that brought together designers Benchmark and 1882 Ltd. New designs, like the beautiful ceramic pieces by Kiki van Eijk for 1882, were on display, and the designers shared their love of creating with hands-on demonstrations and interactive displays held at The Future Laboratory’s Elder Street home in historic Spitalfields.”

  • london design
    5/13

    SCP London

    “Shoreditch stalwarts SCP presented ‘Sofa in Sight’ in its Curtain Road location just around the corner from my store. The exhibition focused on modern upholstery, showcasing six sofas by six different designers, including Faudet Harrison and Terence Woodgate (pictured). SCP presented some of the best upholstery I have seen in years in this single presentation.”