The world capital of home design: London Design Festival's must-see shows – with half-price tickets

London Design Fair, design-junction and 100% Design open in Spitalfields, King's Cross and Kensington this week – here's where to go and what to see. Plus: half-price ticket offers.
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Barbara Chandler20 September 2017

Formerly known as Tent, the London Design Fair is at the Old Truman Brewery, 26 Hanbury Street, E1, from 21-24 September; public admission, 23-24 September, tickets £10 in advance, £15 on the door.

Brick Lane at the weekend sees Shoreditch locals out in force, swarming around markets and street-food booths, or just chilling over brunch. And this energy permeates the London Design Fair. “Expect experiments, quality and experience,” says the irrepressible founder-director Jimmy MacDonald.

For the first time, the US is crashing into the design scene, with Assembly, a parade of the avant garde, garnered by pioneering US magazine Sight Unseen.

Poland is bringing highlights from its celebrated Lodz design festival and Sweden, too, has its own home. Finland’s impeccable design pedigree is highlighted in Finnish Form. And Dutch Stuff — typically irreverent — is your chance to buy into extreme design.

Eastern influence: mid-century-style furniture by Polish company VZOR at the design fair

British Craft has a whole pavilion to itself, curated by the elegant specialist magazine Hole & Corner, Scotland is a long way off but let the country come to you in a special show of Scottish design, with ceramics, lighting, furniture, glass and mixed media.

2. DESIGN JUNCTION

design-junction, 1 Granary Square, N1; open tomorrow until Sunday, half-price tickets, £7.50.

This vast trade show is in five separate areas behind the looming brick facade that edges the popular Granary Square. It is aimed at retail buyers, interior designers and architects but the public are welcome throughout, especially in the “Canopy” of shops on the left as you go in.

International: cushions printed and made in Scotland by Laura Spring, plus a rug created in collaboration with Floor Story and a wall hanging inspired by the ancient Finnish weaving technique, takana. All at Design Junction

Dramatic arches, conjured up by London architect Adam Nathaniel Furman (who has a show at the Sir John Soane museum), are made from a medley of tiles from Turkish ceramics. Flower-delivery Bloomon’s floral tunnel is a fragrant softening touch, while on the canal, Campari hosts cocktail classes on a barge. Tala, the light bulb people, serve port and tonics from a vintage Mini.

Inside the show, around 200 brands strut their latest home, office and lighting. Young Sussex-based furniture-maker Ted Jefferis puts brown oak, ash and elm into a massive headboard with a natural “wavy” edge.

100% Design is at Olympia, Hammersmith Road, W14, 20-23 September, Saturday is the public day; use code ES100 for a half-price ticket at £7.50.

In 1995, this show was the first of its kind and a trigger for the London Design Festival, which did not arrive until 2003. Originally at Earls Court, it has now settled comfortably into Olympia, a great venue for “the largest design show for industry professionals” with a splendid roof and natural light.

Bright ideas: at 100% Design, Benjamin Craven, fresh from the New Designers summer graduate show in Islington, has designed a range of fabrics for a café

Products are arranged in handy sections, such as “kitchen and bathroom”, “interiors” and “design and build”. Plus “emerging brands” with an eclectic mix of printed velvets and wallpaper, furniture with concrete tops and radios assembled from vintage machinery.

The Design London area showcases luxury brands. An innovative café flaunts bold geometric fabrics by new grad Benjamin Craven. Catch an interiors masterclass with the British Institute of Interior Design’s president, Susie Rumbold.

And down the road, at the new Design Museum in Kensington High Street, eight designers are exploring marble and limestone for a free installation called Set in Stone.