May Design Series 2015 to feature exhibitions of emerging talent
Dezeen promotion: exhibitions that aim to promote emerging talent within the industry will be on show as part of New Design Britain at the May Design Series 2015 (+ slideshow).
Running from 17 to 19 May, the May Design Series trade fair returns to the ExCeL centre in London and will showcase products from over 500 brands.
Among a series of exhibitions that focus on up-and-coming designers as part of the event is Artisans of Light, which will feature projects by small lighting companies and designers from around the world.
Israeli artist Shimale Peleg will make his UK debut with Light in Art, a collection inspired by the natural world that includes a pendant made up of lead-framed oval disks suspended from transparent wire.
The Light Yard has teamed up with designer Gwyn Carless to create a range of filament bulbs that are set into hand-crafted glass shades.
Ollumi's skull-shaped Orphée light, described by the designers as a "modern version of a vanity, representing the futility of existence", will launch at the event.
Greek-born Sotis Filippide's will also be exhibiting his hand-thrown ceramic lighting, with shades lined in 24-carat gold and platinum.
The Designer Makers section intends to highlight the best British design, giving visitors the option to commission works and purchase ready-to-buy pieces at the event.
Yorkshire-based Galvin Brothers will present its contemporary wooden furniture crafted using traditional joinery techniques.
The new collection, entitled Cross Lap, includes tables, benches, stools and consoles in steamed beech and waterborne lacquered walnut.
Contemporary sculptural artist Noel Blakeman will show his Bunch of Sticks fire basket, alongside furniture made from metal and gesso – a white paint mixture – by Kate Noakes.
Katie Treggiden, the co-founder and editor of recently launched design magazine Fiera, has curated an area called Fiera Edit. Mimicking the premise of the biannual publication, the exhibition will feature emerging talent that has been handpicked from global design fairs.
Included in Fiera Edit is design duo Nils Chudy and Jasmina Grase's Miito kettle, and RCA graduate Alicija Patanowska's hand-thrown ceramic plant pots.
Bowls, tables and tiles made from water-based resin, mineral powder and pigments are all part of Troels Flensted's Poured collection. The materials are mixed while the resin is fluid and poured into moulds, creating a unique pattern on each piece as it sets.
Collaborating with German glassblower Cornelius Réer, Laura Jungmann has produced a series of decorative glassware from mass-produced functional objects that will also be on show.
The Into the Blue chair by Gróa Ólöf Þorgeirsdóttir, which rises over the sitter to form a shell lined with fabric tabs, will also be on display.
May Design Series will take place from 17 to 19 May at the ExCeL Centre in London. Register to attend for free on the event's website.
Read on for more information from the organisers:
May Design Series 2015
Amongst over 500 brands from 26 countries exhibiting at May Design Series (17-19 May, ExCeL London) will be a number of design-led features to promote new and emerging talent within the industry. Here is a selection of those who are launching their ideas into the market place.
Artisans of Light
This space is an area of the show that is dedicated to small lighting companies producing unique handcrafted designs.
Light in Art: Israeli artist Shimale Peleg makes his UK debut at May Design Series with a collection of lights inspired by the natural world, with each fitting individually designed to create a fusion of light and art using exquisitely crafted stained glass.
Ollumi: Parisian company Ollumi will be launching its Orphée light. Handmade in Italy, Orphée is meant to be a modern version of a vanity, representing the futility of existence. The light inside counters this, creating an incongruity that shows that life and energy is at the centre of everything.
Sotis Ceramic Studio: Sotis Filippides produces high-quality bespoke hand-thrown ceramic lighting, each piece unique and often featuring a final firing of 24-carat gold and platinum.
The Light Yard: This Lancashire based lighting company will present its new Alchemist Collection. LED Edison-style light bulbs form the centre piece of each design, set in hand-cut architectural glass for the lampshades. When switched on, filament and glass interact to create a visually arresting array of crisp reflections within the shade.
Designer Makers
Introducing the best in British craftsmanship, this space will highlight a selection of the UK's top designer makers presenting bespoke product designs ready to buy or commission at the event.
Galvin Brothers celebrate the uniquely wonderful properties of English Oak and other solid woods to design and make contemporary handcrafted furniture from their workshops in Yorkshire, England, using traditional joinery techniques with a modern twist. Cross Lap is a new collection that explores the robust structural integrity of the 'crossed half lap' joint in the leg configurations that run corner to corner beneath various shapes. The range includes tables, benches, consoles and stools made in native steamed beech and walnut with waterborne lacquers.
Noel Blakeman: 15 years ago city-worker Noel decided to trade in his brogues for steel toe-capped boots and go back to college to study the art of blacksmithing, before setting up his own studio in Northamptonshire, England. Noel now produces contemporary functional sculptures like the Bunch of Sticks fire basket.
Blottworks is an independent design studio based in the north of England, producing hand-engineered functional sculptures as limited editions. The studio was founded by Dan Morrison, an artist-engineer with many years experience creating magical and wondrous worlds and objects. His work sits in the crossover between art, craft and design.
Kate Noakes has developed a process of revitalising and reinventing existing furniture by veneering it with designs cut from sheet metal inlaid with gesso. The designs, often inspired by architecture and industrial design, are applied in metal directly onto the furniture after it has been reconditioned. The resulting pieces are both dynamic and functional, each totally unique.
Fiera Edit
Curated by Katie Treggiden, editor of recently launched Fiera Magazine, this area will showcase fresh talent discovered at the world's design fairs including Northmodern in Copenhagen, Stockholm Furniture Fair and Ambiente Frankfurt.
Nils Chudy and Jasmina Grase have reinvented the electric kettle with Miito, an innovative product that heats liquids directly in the vessel to be used. Simply fill a cup with water, place it onto the induction base and immerse the rod in the liquid. The induction base heats the rod, which then heats the liquid surrounding it.
RCA graduate Alicja Patanowska's hand throws ceramic forms to turn discarded glassware into sculptural one-off plant pots which allow the observation of the growing process of plants, both its stem as well its root.
Gróa Ólöf Þorgeirsdóttir's Into the Blue chair is just as much an experience and a freestanding work of art as it is a piece of functional furniture, with the chair's form and colours providing comfort for both the body and the soul.
Laura Jungmann's Samesame collection, produced in collaboration with renowned German glass blower Cornelius Réer, is a series of remodelled mass-produced glassware transformed into one-of-a-kind decorative objects.
Troels Flensted's Poured collection encompassing bowls, tables and tiles was the result of experimentation with water-based resin, mineral powder and pigments to test the physical and visual quality of the materials, which when poured into moulds flow together to create a random pattern – a 'frozen moment' that makes each product unique.
Registration for the show is now open – to claim your complimentary pass, visit the website.