Tent to showcase 250 independent designers during London Design Festival 2015
Dezeen promotion: design trade show Tent London will take place from 24 to 27 September 2015 at the Old Truman Brewery during the city's annual design festival (+ slideshow).
Tent London has exhibited emerging independent designers from across the globe in the UK capital since it was founded in 2007.
"What we're interested in showing is good design," said Tent director and co-founder Jimmy MacDonald. "We don't care whether that comes from more established or younger designers, as long as the quality is there. That's what people come to Tent to see – good design and new ideas."
Alongside this year's 250 exhibiting designers will be national pavilions from countries including Ireland, Korea, Lithuania, Poland, Australia, Italy, Denmark, and Czech Republic.
100% Norway, an exhibition of Norwegian design, will make its return to the London Design Festival for the 12th time at Tent, while Finland will make its debut with a pavilion titled Finnish Form.
Paint brand Dulux will be launching its Colour Futures 2016 at the show, where it will reveal its Colour of the Year 2016 and other design trends for the year ahead.
Running alongside Tent, Super Brands London will host a mix of international design brands including Berlin-based furniture label Neo/Craft and Swedish furniture manufacturer Lammhults.
Moroso creative director Patrizia Moroso and industrial designer Ron Arad will discuss their 25-year-long collaboration as part of the Super Talks programme.
A concrete bar called The Mixer, designed by Liane Russ and Phil Henshaw, will allow visitors the chance to mix their own concrete using raw materials while drinking "artisinal" cocktails.
Other drinking and eating experiences will include the Tent Cafe Bar, which this year has been designed by interior designer Helen Hughes, and Eatapei – a "design and food mash-up".
Dezeen is media partner for Tent London, which will run from 24 to 27 September 2015 during this year's London Design Festival.
Trade and press visitors can register for free before 18 September, and members of the public can receive a discount on the £12 ticket price by booking ahead of the same deadline.
Visit the Tent London website to register and to find out more about the event.
Read on for more information from the organisers:
Tent London and Super Brands London takes place over the 24-27 September at the Old Truman Brewery, during the London Design Festival. Tent London has been championing independent designers, both well-known and emerging, since it was founded in 2007.
Whether you're an architect, an interior designer, or a journalist, design festivals are where you go to find something new, something different, something you can't find from the comfort of your desk – and more often than not those things come from independent designers. Showing for the first time at Tent this year is Dome Studio, tipped as this year's one to watch, Polish designer Danuta Wlodarska with her Two and Three Things brand and Portuguese design studio Tabanda with an innovative furniture range.
Alongside 250 independent designers are a slew of national pavilions from countries including Ireland, Korea, Lithuania, Poland, Australia, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Czech Republic, plus many more. Tent country regular, 100% Norway, will enjoy its 12th exhibition in London with a brand new format produced by Fuglen, responsible for Norwegian Presence, Milan 2015. The Finnish Pavilion.'Finnish Form' is a showcase of independent designers and companies appearing at a London Design show for the first time and is entirely curated by Tent and supported by the Design Forum Finland.
Also new for 2015 is a showcase by Spanish collective Artesian de Galicia, a selection of pieces made by traditional and contemporary crafters from the north-west region of Spain.
Making its first appearance at London Design Festival, Dulux, champions of colour and design in the paint and interiors industry, launches Colour Futures 2016 at Tent London this September. Dulux will reveal it's 2016 Colour of the Year and key colour and design trends for the year ahead. The result will be a thought provoking exhibition of bespoke installations by Anthony Roussel, Kit Miles, Mark McClure and Zoe Murphy, interrupting and bringing to life the key trends of Colour Futures 2016 for visitors to explore.
Super Brands London 2015 will showcase an exciting mix of international design talent from contemporary and cutting-edge brands, as well as playing host to an array of national pavilions during the London Design Festival.
Brands showing for the first time at Super Brands London 2015 will include Neo/Craft, the new furniture label from Berlin-based designer Sebastian Scherer, which reexamines traditional notions about materials with striking effect. Big hitting international brands will also have a presence, including iconic Swedish furniture manufacturer Lammhults who will present a series of new collections and contemporary Dutch brand eQ+, who will present the Alumni Collection, recent winner of the Design District 2015 Award.
A highlight project space for 2015 is The Mixer, an innovative cocktail-bar installation by Liane Russ & Phil Henshaw that has been two years in the making, takes the concept a step further. The bar, sponsored by Cemento, is inspired by the current trend for concrete in design, and clad entirely in tactile concrete.
Material mixology is its central theme, and customers will be encouraged to mix their own concrete using raw materials stored in a cellular structure designed as a cabinet of curiosities, which forms a sculptural centrepiece to the bar. Artist Kate Varner Rieppel will create works using concrete materials and metals in real time at the bar, which customers will be able to observe over a specially themed artisanal cocktail.
Various cafes and bars at this year's show will provide opportunities for interactivity, uniting food with design to create an immersive experience, among them the Swedish Pavilion & Design Cafe; and the design/food mash-up Eataipei.
This year the design of the Tent Cafe Bar is headed by award winning interior designer Helen Hughes, who's recent projects include the Barbican Food Hall. The Cafe Bar will feature lighting by Thomas Housden of Hand & Eye Studio especially designed for Tent London 2015, a planted feature wall by garden designer and expert Kate Gould, all built within a special cardboard tubing structure. An the ideal place to relax with a snack or beverage, the Cafe Bar will be run by London-based cafe deli Benugo.
This year, the Super Talks programme will provide opportunities for visitors to hear news and views on the design world from inspirational designers and industry professionals. On Thursday 24 September, Patrizia Moroso and industrial designer Ron Arad will discuss their unconventional and hugely successful 25-year collaboration in an intimate fireside-style chat, introduced by journalist Jonn Elledge.
Also that day, to tie in with the Finnish Form national pavilion, architect and writer Juhani Pallasmaa will give a talk on his good friend, the Finnish artist, designer and craftsman Tapio Wirkkala, the centenary of whose birth falls this year. The global talks programme will include talks by country showcase participants from Australia, Norway, Taiwan, Denmark, Ireland, Korea, Design Museum and many more.