100% Design review - part 3 Brand round up

Focusing on Brands

I must start with a confession: Whilst there was an interesting selection from the International Pavilions including notable stands for Czech lighting company Lasvit, an out-of-place but nevertheless interesting stand with Mercedes new Concept Style Coupé based on the c-class car and a strong Eastern section including this intriguing Zen chair which caught my eye and is apparently "not for pleasure but for meditation whilst the body and heart bears pain"!

However I wandered around with quite a focused commercial head on and this report probably reflects this. I say this because there was a strength of emerging talent that showed great potential however I had plans and little time to give them my full attention (which often happens at exhibitions).




I am pleased to say that on her first trip to the UK as an exhibitor we were most impressed with Luísa Peixoto Design. We adored all the range on display lending an extravagant corner of high-quality to the 100% Interiors section. Lots of gloss and aged metallic finishes with a hand built craftsmen's love. 

Our wonderful friends at British hand built lighting company Ochre were unveiling their new Sleep Cloud lights: a collection of droplet-like glass 'buds' each with an LED and a stem of sculptured-esque bronze.

Other notable inclusions were the Coco mirror and the new format Drizzle Chandelier in a spiral

  

Another new and exciting find for us was the Austrian bespoke joinery brothers Bernd and Johann Radaschitz from INTERIOR-iD. Their phenominal stand featuring a bespoke kitchen which looked like the angular answer to Zaha Hadid's furtive and flowing creations. Stunningly executed in it's finish incorporating all electronics and a fantastic wooden breakfast bar at one end. I noted that they have achieved exceptional standards of finish with previous work like TV Unit in high gloss with  bronze inlays and complementing mirror for the likes of Candy and Candy. A sharp looking flip top bench designed by Thomas Telser also on display showed all the hallmarks of a passion for challenging design with no compromise on craftsmanship.

I would say the overriding theme in the exhibition pushed towards a Scandinavian feel. Maybe in this economic climate there's something clean and honest about the look which was heavily on show gravitating towards a fabulous collection from Swedese.








Our beloved Philip Watts were present with their rock 'n roll themed door furniture, featuring wings that I swear were inspired by our UBER logo (!) glittering skulls, a revolver long handle and a rose... you guessed it: guns 'n roses.

 

Vitra were showcasing some of the classics in new finishes and colours: I was particularly taken with the classic Eames lounge chair and ottoman in a taupe-mushroom (must find out what colour that was!). And the new Grand Repos by Antonio Citterio a handy position-locking recliner... very comfy.

The below lights from Danish company Vita were wonderfully good value and the white feather versions very chic... a sure hit.

Loving the cross-legged Ribbon stool by Nick Rawcliffe from Deadgood.

So does the new format work?

As a showcase for British interior related products the format works, and it’s a great showcase for emerging talent – as is reinforced by other LDF events like Tent and designjunction also going on around the capital at the same time. It was simple to navigate, but is sadly seems to lack the show of hand from existing brands that other shows around the globe like Maison Objet , ISalone and IMM have in abundance. Come on manufacturers we need to see more of your presence.

Maybe it’s just too close to Decorex timings and budgets in this climate mean one or the other… we’ll see next week.

100% Design 2012 review - part 2

YO! Where did I put my sitting room?

 

When I joked with Simon Woodroffe that his inspiration must have been part Wallace & Gromit and part Austin Powers, (which I meant as a compliment) the reply was a stern look of a business man with serious intent to make this concept a city high-rise reality in the very near future.

This was a main attraction and a highly anticipated star of the 100% Design 'show' for us. As space saving is a valuable commodity and will become more so especially in inner city and suburbia, it's a recurring theme for the entrepreneur Simon Woodroffe of the cabin-esque Yo! Hotel fame and of course YO! Sushi. We witnessed the unveiling of his latest venture Yo! Home. His vision (as far back as 6 years ago) was to create multiple rooms out of one flexible modest space. His well executed prototype 80m2 room showcase housed many clever space saving features the likes of beds raising to create a new ceiling and revealing a sunken lounge area beneath, kitchen tables and seating from automated trapdoors Storage in the floor and sliding partition walls and a kitchen housed behind cupboards.

If I was in a cynical mood I would say it reminded me of those US 1960’s ‘show home of the future’ TV snippets which back then seemed to have us believe we would all have robot maids by now. But what was interesting is that this ingenious execution is low tech. Granted it is electronically driven borrowed from the theatre world with clearly a lot of thought to the mechanics housed in the meter-thick back wall (and I believe a weighted pully version is being advanced as a more practical solution).

I couldn’t help remain with the thought that it might make for some interesting situations if you fall out with the other half only to find you’re trapped in bed… against the ceiling! I hope Simon's building in an easy reach reset!

To give a belated answer to Simon's non-rhetorical question to the audience ‘why has nobody done it before”? I’m sure there’s 10 reasons not to for every 1 positive and this country needs more ‘inventors’ like him not scared to push forward in case of knock backs. Rumour has it he has invested £200,000 in this prototype. However, I guess we’ll wait to see at what price tag these will be available before we know for sure how viable. Cynicism aside I actually don’t doubt that Simon will realise yet another of his visions and make it a successful business venture along the way. He may just revolutionise the way city living is to be. “It’s simple and it’s magical” he concludes.

He left us with the thought that generations will one day look back on our era and question why with all the technological advances of our age did we still live in houses where spaces such as dining rooms were used for only a few hours a week? Whilst we can, I suppose we do languish in unused space - at a premium cost even now. But why can't I shake the notion that his prediction may be regarded as truley visonary in time to come.