New Designers exhibition is the leading showcase of graduate design talent as they emerge from the UK’s design courses, presenting everything from architecture to animation, furniture to fashion, graphics to glass. Hosted under one roof at Islington’s Business Design Centre (BDC), visitors can access over 3,500 new talents across the two-part event.

NEW DESIGNERS 2010

PART 1: 1st-4th July 2010 >>> Textiles; Fashion & Accessories; contemporary Applied Arts; Ceramics & Glass; Jewellery & Precious Metalwork.

PART 2: 8th-11th July 2010 >>> Product Design; Furniture; Visual Communications (including Graphic Design & Illustration); Spatial Design.

BUSINESS DESIGN CENTRE

52 Upper Street, London N1 0QH (08448 480 139)

Due to the sheer volume of work being exhibited, New Designers is split across two shows with each show focussing on the creative disciplines listed above.

2010 is a landmark for New Designers, which will have been running for 25 successful years. To mark this anniversary, ‘Where are you now’ celebrates the success of a number of New Designer’s alumni with work displayed (and for sale) near the upper café.

Alongside the graduates’ exhibits is a special showcase of design entrepreneurs entitled ‘One Year On.’ As the name suggests, it presents a selected showcase of designers whose work has matured and progressed in their first year in business. Thorsten van Elten curates the 40 contributors.

An extensive talks and seminars programme adds further interest with sessions offering advice for professional development and insights into some of the key issues of the day.

We will be selling copies of LONDON DESIGN GUIDE at New Designers Part Two.

The Royal College of Art’s talent pool of 2010 is on show within the college galleries in Kensington. This end of year showcase is an important time for talent scouts to pick up on the latest postgraduate talent and their challenging ideas.

RCA SHOW PART TWO, 25th June-4th July 2010

ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART

Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU

Part Two is dedicated to graduating students from Animation, Architecture, Communication Art & Design, Design Products, Design Interactions, Fashion Footwear and Accessories, History of Design, Innovation Design Engineering, Textiles and Vehicle Design.

This year is Tord Boontje’s first show as Head of Design Products. His students have taken over a whole floor of the Stevens Building, just a short walk from the main galleries across Jay Mews. This gives the department a unique space to exhibit and interact with visitors so be sure to pop over the road to see it.

For the first time at the RCA Show, a group of students from several departments are exhibiting collectively in the central courtyard of the Darwin building, under the banner Department 21. They are hosting a series of public events with guests speakers.

Furthermore, Painting and Sculpture students are exhibiting simultaneously at the RCA’s new Battersea campus (Howie Street, SW11 4AS). Hop on board a Routemaster bus for a free ride between the two Shows, running every half hour on weekends throughout Show Two dates.

The Wapping Project, the east London gallery, restaurant and performance space is hosting ‘Chorus’, an immersive kinetic experience light and sound installation by United Visual Artists.

CHORUS, 15th June – 18th July 2010

THE WAPPING PROJECT

Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping Wall, London E1W 3SG (020 7680 2080)

Installed in the Wapping Project’s Boiler House, a dark and cavernous industrial space, Chorus is simultaneously a physical and ephemeral experience consisting of an array of motor-assisted pendulums, suspended from the roof. Mounted on each of the pendulums are a light and a speaker. Together these pendulums form a single instrument that explores the relationship between performance, sculpture and installation.

Chorus was originally commissioned in March 2009 by Opera North Projects in association with The Culture Company to celebrate the reopening of the Howard Assembly Rooms in Leeds (pictured top). Chorus is effectively a musical instrument on a grand scale; an instrument in which the special location of each sound is a critical part of the composition.

Each light pendulum emits its own unique musical score that together forms a perfect ensemble of light and sound. Conceived by the British collective United Visual Artists, whose work spans permanent architectural installation, live performance and responsive installation, Chorus has been reworked within the Wapping Project.

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The pictures above show the installation in Durham Cathedral for Artichoke’s Lumiere event in November 2009. Click here to watch a video of that installation.

Free Range presents the work of thousands of graduates from art and design universities around the UK, in several distinct categories over 8 weeks. The event takes place in the Old Truman Brewery in London’s East End.

FREE RANGE 2010, 4th June-26th July 2010

THE OLD TRUMAN BREWERY

91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

The event embraces all the creative disciplines, from art, graphics and photography to architecture, interiors (including product and furniture design) and textiles. Furthermore, educational charity D&AD are bringing ‘New Blood‘, their creative talent show, to Free Range for the first time.

Free Range was originally conceived over 10 years ago as a regeneration project for The Old Truman Brewery, alongside 93 Feet East and Fashion East, a successful millennium strategy that has brought people and businesses into the area and established it as a creative hub in London.

For the full programme of exhibiting colleges, visit the Free Range website.

Please note, the exhibitors change weekly. As a result, the exhibition open days during this period are Fridays to Mondays, 10am-7pm.

In case you didn’t make it to the infamous Milan Furniture Fair in April, fear not. Having trudged around the immense fair and countless city installations, leading design store twentytwentyone has handpicked the best products and is featuring them at their showroom in Islington.

HIGHLIGHTS OF MILAN, 19th-29th May 2010

TWENTYTWENTYONE showroom

18c River Street, London EC1R 1XN (020 7837 1900)

Highlights of Milan embraces a range of technologies, materials, forms and thought processes. Designs include a make-your-own chair by Enzo Mari, a knitted rug by Patricia Urquiola, a CNC-milled timber chair by Sam Hecht, a paper task light from Claesson Koivisto Rune and a new sofa family from Jasper Morrison.

On show are designs from Naoto Fukasawa, Thomas Heatherwick, Barber Osgerby, Patricia Urquiola, Konstantin Grcic, Tom Dixon, Sam Hecht, Jasper Morrison, Michael Sodeau, David Chipperfield, Franz Volhard, Inge Sempe, Enzo Mari, Michael Young, Raw Edges, Todd Bracher, Claesson Koivisto Rune, Marina Baultier, Constance Guisset and PearsonLloyd.

The Milan Salone is the most important event in the design calendar acting as a key influence upon interiors in the year ahead. The exhibits comprise of both prototypes and designs that are ready for production, with orders being available for immediate dispatch.

The Crafts Council’s annual art fair for contemporary objects – COLLECT – is taking place at the Saatchi Gallery. Over 300 artists are exhibiting works with representative galleries from around the world.

COLLECT 2010, 14th-17th May 2010

SAATCHI GALLERY

Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, London SW3 4SQ

COLLECT 2010 presents both established artists and new talent, covering all disciplines: ceramics, glass, jewellery, silver and fine metalwork, textiles, and wood and furniture.

Participating London galleries include Contemporary Applied Arts, Electrum Gallery, Adrian Sassoon, Cockpit Arts, and Flow.

Furthermore, Seven emerging artists have created an installation in the windows of six local retailers, each working with the retail brand in mind. Called COLLECT TRAIL, retailers include Designers Guild, Cath Kidston, David Mellor, Osborne & Little, and TASCHEN.

Also worth checking out is satellite show – The Great Glass Exhibition – at Thomas Goode & Co in Mayfair.

Images, from top: Ghost series by Gareth Neal (CAA); Maelstrom by Michael Eden (Adrian Sassoon); Kuu-5 by Niyoko Ikuta (Yufuku Gallery); Untitled by Gareth Neal (CAA).

At 5pm on 28th April, auction house Phillips de Pury & Company is staging its spring DESIGN sale in its London showroom. The sale focusses on rare and important pieces from celebrated 20th and 21st Century designers.

‘DESIGN’ auction, 28th April 2010, 5pm

PHILLIPS DE PURY & COMPANY

Howick Place, London SW1P 1BB (020 7318 4010)

Top: ‘Unique three-arm ceiling lamp’ by Serge Mouille (c.1955): estimate £70,000-100,000.

Above: ‘Mexique’ bookcase by Charlotte Perriand and Atelier Jean Prouvé (1953): estimate £80,000-140,000.

167 lots are offered in this curated sale, with estimates totaling £1,490,400 (low) and £2,137,900 (high). PAGE UPDATE: SALES TOTALED £1,822,075.

Above: ‘Totem’ floor lamp by Serge Mouille (c.1962): estimate £80,000-120,000.

A large collection of important midcentury French works by Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, and Serge Mouille features alongside property from the apartment of Laurence and Patrick Seguin, Paris.

Above: ‘Willow’ sculpture by Harry Bertoia (c.1970): estimate £35,000-45,000.

Other significant works include designs by Ettore Sottsass, Harry Bertoia, Shiro Kuramata, and Atelier Van Lieshout.

Above: ‘Fisherman’s House’ by Atelier Van Lieshout (2000): estimate £35,000-55,000.

All lots can be viewed in person at Phillips de Pury from 21st-27th April 2010 or via their online catalogue.

Above: ‘Exceptional large wall light’ by Poul Henningsen for the Concert Hall, Scala Theater, Arhus, Denmark (1955): estimate £15,000-20,000.

All images courtesy of Phillips de Pury & Company.

Successful Brighton design store The Lollipop Shoppe has opened its first London outlet within Old Spitalfields Market, selling a diverse portfolio of products from watches to furniture and cushions to lighting.

THE LOLLIPOP SHOPPE

10 Lamb Street, Old Spitalfields Market, London E1 6EA (020 7655 4540)

The product selection at this store tends to favour the quality design classics from big reputable brands such as Vitra, Knoll, Artek, Cassina, and Fritz Hansen.

The 150-square-metre space, arranged over two floors, has been designed by architects Found Associates. The interior has been stripped back to the original brickwork to reveal the Victorian pillars of Old Spitalfields Market.

While exposing the space’s former textures and characteristics, the architects have provided a contrast by installing slick black display units for the edited product selection.

In case you’re wondering about the shop name, it was chosen by the owners Marco and Siobhan Di Rienzo after the 1960s psychedelic garage rock band from Portland, Oregan.

EDITOR’S COMMENTS:

As is policy at LONDON DESIGN GUIDE, I turned up to this store unannounced and hopefully anonymous. My ‘hello-and-a-smile’ radar went on and was thankfully satisfied within seconds of arrival.

Immediate impressions of the space are favourable. Displays are clean and free from clutter as one would expect from a store that was only days old on my visit. Every product is displayed with exhibition-like emphasis which I felt was a bit uptight, particularly in a relatively small space. I would quite like to see more stock choices but I suspect this evolve as the owners grow into their new environment.

I felt rather disappointed that such a high proportion of the stock is comprised of design classics. Nobody questions the virtues of these timeless creations by the likes of Eames, Saarinen, Panton, Bertoia, Jacobsen, Kjaerholm et al. The only problem is London’s design retailers are already awash with the same offerings.

I certainly appreciate the aesthetic style they have opted for at The Lollipop Shoppe, but I can’t help thinking they could be more adventurous with the stock and introduce some items that are not sold elsewhere.

There was an objet on display that indicated that they may be open to such an approach. The laminated cast acrylic sculptures from Vasa Studio (pictured below) were a welcome addition, and I later found out that they are an exclusive to the store. Now we’re talking.

United Visual Artists (UVA) has been commissioned by Virgin Media to create an immersive light installation on London’s South Bank to mark the tenth anniversary of broadband in the UK. Speed of Light is a series of installations that explore the themes of communication and modernity.

‘SPEED OF LIGHT,’ 9th-19th April 2010

BARGEHOUSE

OXO Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, London SE1 9PH

The series of installations aims to invoke in the viewer a sense of the ‘magic’ involved in fibre optic communications.

About the project: Stripped back to its materials, fibre optic is a thin strand of glass, with nothing more than a flickering beam of light. UVA have used this beam as the starting point for their work. The installations dramatize the experience of using fibre-optic communication, re-imagining it as an immersive environment.

The story begins with an input from the audience, which is transferred into a pathway of light, leading through the atmospheric environment of the Bargehouse. The continuous line of light evolves through each installation in turn shifting in intensity and form.

Speed of Light uses over 148 lasers across four floors and six rooms of the Bargehouse, a raw and industrial warehouse on the South Bank.

Images © United Visual Artists 2010

This series of four short video diaries have been produced to explain the project:

EDITOR’S COMMENT:

The images in this web post make the installation look cool. However, the real-life experience is a million times more amazing and is another kick-ass multi-sensorial, experiential installation by UVA.

Presumably, Virgin Media has commissioned this for the cool factor = commercial pay-off. Well, that’s absolutely fine by me. I praise the visionary person at Virgin who had the balls to go ahead with this ambitious project. This is truly where commerce and culture can exist side by side. I would encourage other large brands to embrace a similar outlook.

As for the actual installation, go and see it for yourself before it closes. My only wish was that it was open for longer…

SKITSCH is an Italian producer and retailer of contemporary design, which launched with aplomb in Milan in April 2009. Now they have opened a new 350-square-metre store on Brompton Road, in the heart of the Brompton Design District.

SKITSCH

270 Brompton Road, London SW3 2AW

Skitsch is not only a design retailer but also a producer of its own collection of contemporary interior products, which is an unusual and bold move for such a young company. They are positioning themselves at the top-end of the market in their location alongside the brand establishment of Brompton.

Steered by the creative direction of the characterful dame of Italian design, Cristina Morozzi, the Skitsch collection comprises works by dozens of emerging and established international designers. LDG editor Max Fraser interviewed Morozzi during Skitsch’s launch in Milan in 2009 – watch the interview here.

Visitors to the London store can expect to find chairs, tables, sofas, storage, beds, lamps, accessories, objects, and textiles. Design junkies should look out for designs by the likes of Maarten Baas (Netherlands), Front (Sweden), Xavier Lust (Belgium), Peter Marigold (UK), Luca Nichetto (Italy), Giles Miller (UK), Bertjan Pot (Netherlands), Marc Sadler (Italy), Marcel Wanders (Netherlands), 5.5 Designers (France), and Jean-Marie Massaud (France), plus many others.

Products can also be ordered online and delivered to your home.