From Thursday 3rd to Sunday 6th is taking place in trendy Shoreditch the eagerly anticipated East London Design show. First established in 1994, this year’s show is the biggest ever, with over 100 designers from as far afield as Seattle and Sidney alongside top British talents.
Spread across three different floors, with also workshops and a cafe serving delicious traditional English cakes, the show is the perfect opportunity for design lovers to catch up with what’s new in 2009 in contemporary design. Everything from innovative furniture to fashion, jewellery or even original gift-wrapping is on display.
For the same reason, it’s also the perfect place for unique Christmas shopping, whether you want to buy prints, clothes, bags, jewellery, kids stuff, it’s a safe bet that you will find what you are looking for, with this little yet invaluable designer touch!
Many exciting products and talented designers, check them out!
Let them eat cake have taken an iconic British tea time symbol and given it a twist of modernity, presenting beautiful vintage china repurposed into beautiful mismatched cake stands, tea and cake sets or tiered serving platters. Leading Swedish design website ‘Hemfeber’, described them as ‘complete porcelain anarchy, which is a little fun’. Definitely agree!
You surely remember the very first bra you purchased. Like a rite of passage, it always is a special moment to be shared between mothers and daughters. On their lovely boudoir-like stall, Sweetling is presenting their line of delicate bras for young girls. Each bra is specifically designed to support young girls rapidly changing breasts and made in the UK from soft, 100% cotton in retro-inspired, designer fabrics. The designs work with and promote the natural shape of each young girl’s unique silhouette.
To remember how good it feels to be a woman, there’s nothing better than falling for Olyinka’s underwear line. Their philosophy? To encourage women to feel confident and comfortable about their bodies, flattering and accentuating women’s figure rather than making them feel ill at ease. As a result, a stunning burlesque inspired collection of silk, organic cottons and chiffon pieces, with delicate designs and a palette of soft, feminine shades: peach, ivory, champagne.
Ben’s Sister bags are individually designed and hand sewn. Each piece is a one-off, as all pieces are created on a made-t-order basis from the finest, handpicked leathers and silk linings. The client is generally involved in the process, either working with Becky, the designer and founder, to create a truly unique piece from scratch, or adapting one of her own designs by choosing from a vast array of leathers and linings or having her sourcing a specific colour or fabric.
C.Grand London is a unique mixture of innovation and British eccentricity and specialises in bespoke accessories, with products ranging from leather handbags to hand-made knitwear pieces. All creations are original, produced in England, and offer innovative style in form of beautiful craftsmanship, made to a high quality standard that not only last but can grow to become timeless vintage pieces.
Heidi Mottram specialises in luxurious jewel coloured eel skin bags, purses and wallets. The designer describes eel skin as ‘an amazing feather light super soft material’ – one-hundred and fifty percent stronger than cowhide leather of the same thickness. Most importantly, eel skin is a by-product, meaning that the eels were not harmed for their skin. With the signature fuchsia pink zip tags, the bags and purses are both beautiful and covetable and such a valuable alternative to other luxury leather products in the same market.
Tabitha Bargh creates stunning lampshades, hand laminated and using corrugated cardboard, made from 85% recycled material. Innovative and just beautiful!
Also to be seen, Visible-In-Visible, a student collective specialising in the specific areas of glass, jewellery and furniture. And so many more…
Laurie Guillem
Let them eat cake – www.letthemeatcake.co.uk / Sweetling – www.sweetling.co.uk / Olyinka – www.olyinka.com / Ben’s Sister – www.benssister.co.uk / C.Grand – www.cgrandlondon.com / Heidi Mottram – www.heidimottram.co.uk / Tabitha Bargh – www.tabithabargh.co.uk / Visible-In-Visible – www.v-i-v.co.uk
East London Design Show 3rd-6th December – Shoreditch Town Hall – 380 Old Street London EC1 9LT. More information on the ELDS website.