Trend-watching at Clerkenwell Design Week 2014

Clerkenwell Design Week has established itself as the UK’s leading independent design festival. With four highly successful years under its belt, it is already one of the most lauded events on the international design calendar.

Hosting more than 60 showrooms, it takes place over three days in May, becoming a hive of creativity for artists, designers and architects. The showrooms this year include the Design Factory, Platform, Detail and Additions. There are so many trends for the design-savvy to keep an eye on, but here are the top picks you need to look out for, as chosen by our design team: 

In terms of furnishings, wood is sure to make a regular appearance at Clerkenwell Design Week, in the form of desks, chairs, stools and tables. There is a huge demand and growing emphasis on natural materials in furniture design.

German based Vitamin Design will bring its Stool Klotz, a solid design that embraces the natural knots and formations in the wood. Meanwhile Barnby and Day will showcase hand-made furniture from their country workshop near the picturesque Hay-on-Wye, ­­­including a new handmade range using American black walnut and oak.

Another dominant trend this year is craft, with products having key emphasis on the maker and materials.

Young designer Hend Krichen will showcase her Tunisia Made collection, a series of vessels created using Tunisia's artisanal skills and craftsmanship.

At Platform, new design company Tamma Design, run by Estonia born Johanna Tammsalu, will showcase its porcelain Solid Spin lamps.

Clerkenwell is known as a hotbed for architects and it is only natural that this influence is reflected at Clerkenwell Design Week, with plenty of architecturally themed designs.

Chisel & Mouse will present their scaled-down models of architectural landmarks, introducing the new Frank Lloyd Wright collection at Additions. Newcomer to the festival, Discipline, will launch the sculptural Last Side Table by Max Lamb at Design Factory, while Barcelona based lighting manufacturer Vibia will present Wireflow, a new line of pendant lights by Arik Levy. 

A mix of materials, natural surfaces and tactile fabrics will emerge as key trends throughout the showrooms and exhibitions. Leading fabric brand Camira will launch its new Silk fabric, a mix of three natural fibres including flax, wool and silk.

Pinch Design's new Derome light will have its UK launch at the festival, while Swedish brand Örsjö will launch Skyline by Folkform, a new lighting collection with a pixelated effect – inspired by the architecture of Stockholm.

Moving away from lighting and onto fabric and furnishings, there has been a recent focus on bold patterns with an artistic feel. A Rum Fellow, a London based interiors company, has embodied this trend fully with a collection of textiles in tribal print.

Designer and maker Victoria Umansky has also embraced the trend for vibrant prints, and works to marry ‘sustainability with style’. Floral prints and colour-popping fabrics will also be featured heavily throughout Clerkenwell Design Week. Pattern enthusiasts Lewis and Wood will showcase their new wallpaper and fabric collections at Detail. 

It seems that some trends are set to continue where Milan left off, with statement lighting most definitely on the agenda and a dedicated lighting floor at Design Factory. Leading lighting experts Holloways of Ludlow, Artemide, Anglepoise, Prandina, Catellani and Smith, Studio Italia Design and ModoLuce will all be showcasing their latest ranges.

Festival regular Deadgood will present its Marionette light, made from laser cut, folded sheet metal. British design brand Another Country will launch an exclusive new range of industrial lighting by New York design studio, Workstead.

For more information on the designers and brands showcasing at Clerkenwell Design Week 2014, visit the website. We’ll be in the Design Factory at The Farmiloe Building, and look forward to seeing you next week. We will also be unveiling Ptolemy Mann’s Prismatic Landscape tile mural, made from 4,224 tiles from our Prismatics collection. Read more here.