I’m incredibly excited to be off to INTERIORS UK 2013 at the NEC Birmingham next weekend – and once there it’ll be hard to know where to start. One of my greatest pleasures connected with running this website is meeting the talented, committed, and inspirational people behind the products we feature. So my first instinct will be to make a beeline for New Design Britain to see the up and coming stars and explore the work of the finalists in this annual design talent competition. My love of textiles, on the other hand, will be urging me towards the dedicated Fabric Pavilion which I know will will be a veritable riot of colour, pattern and texture. And always on the look out for new and exciting homewares, I’ll also be tempted to head straight for the “department store” of global design products specially designed by Designersblock with it’s own in-store café – an early start will definitely call for extra caffeine. Not to mention Mix Publications’ seminars on trend forecasts, definitely a must-attend. So much to see, so little time …
In fact, I know I’ll be visiting all these, and lots more, and that it’ll be an amazing, hectic and completely wonderful time – I look forward to sharing my highlights with you in future posts. In the meantime, I’ve selected some images that I hope you’ll enjoy, and if you want to visit yourself there’s still time to register for your FREE ticket and avoid the £30 on-site entry fee.
New Design Britiain, the competiton for young design talent, gives recognition to students for innovative and ground-breaking work across four categories – Textiles, Accessories, Furniture and Surfaces. There are four finalists in each of the four categories; I’ve chosen just one from each, so clockwise from below top left are: Textiles – Tabitha Stewart; Accessories – Daniel Edwards; Surfaces – Gemma Joyce; and Furniture – Daniel Schofield.
A new feature of the competition, the Online Choice Award, means that design lovers everywhere can help choose this year’s Online Choice winner. All you have to do is visit the INTERIORS UK Facebook page, click through the gallery of shortlisted designs, and vote for your favourite simply by ‘liking’ its picture. The design which receives the biggest number of ‘likes’ by 20 January will be the winner, scooping an exclusive prize at Interiors UK, where the other winners of New Design Britain will also be announced.
Designersblock return for 2013 and are designing their very own “department store” which will be packed with the latest products from some of the world’s emerging design talent. With its own grand store entrance and café it’s bound to be a fun and unique experience, as well as a visual delight. Here’s a sneak preview of just a few of the delights that await:
Above are two textile designs by Gordon W Robertson and below is the Hackney Empire sofa by House of Hackney.
Above left is the Well Proven Chair by James Shaw and right are ceramics by Myung Nam An. Below are Plumen’s award-winning low-energy lights.
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