Design destination

The award winning Clerkenwell Design Week is back from the 20-22 of May. CDW has firmly established itself over the years as the UK’s leading design festival. Taking place in the Clerkenwell district in London, home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet, CDW has found a distinctive way to celebrate one of the most important design hubs in the world, by showcasing the world’s leading interior brands.

The event is a must-attend to discover industry trends, elevate workplace environments and explore practical design solutions. CDW, is a front row seat to see how workplace, commercial and hospitality design is evolving.

This year will be the largest edition to date, welcoming visitors with an exciting lineup of installations, brands, exhibitions and talks across 15+ venues and 160+ local design showrooms, where aesthetics, functionality and wellbeing intersect. There are 10 exhibition venues across the festival, each boasting a different curatorial focus, from leading brands and emerging talent covering furniture, lighting, textiles, accessories, surfaces and product design from around the globe.

Three new exhibition venues have been added to the programme this year, among them the historic medieval and Tudor buildings of The Charterhouse and Charterhouse Square; St Bartholomew the Great, London’s oldest parish church; and Studio Smithfield, a Grade II-listed building above Smithfield Market in the heart of the Culture Mile.

FOCUSED TALKS ON WORKPLACE AND WELLBEING

Conversations at Clerkenwell, the festival’s official talks series curated by PR and Brand Consultant Katie Richardson, will be hosted at the historic Charterhouse for the first time. The series will feature industry figures and emerging talent in a Kapitza-designed theatre inspired by the rich history of patterns and ornaments adorning the venue’s walls and ceilings. Kaptiza is well-known for its colourful public art installations for British Land, wayfinding designs for the Royal London Hospital and public and leisure architecture projects.

The conversations will cover the issues of the day with opinions and ideas from global designers, emerging talents, crafts people, material specialists and more. In 18 live sessions over three days, the topics will range from colour and interior trends to heritage renewal, commercial space design and AI in design; as well as neurodiversity in the workplace, navigating sound design, and best practice for ergonomics.

This year will open with Dutch Artist and Designer Sabine Marcelis in conversation with Alice Morby and further talks from a remarkable lineup of speakers including designers from Pearson Lloyd as well as three daily sessions curated and hosted by architecture and design publication Dezeen.

PRODUCT DISCOVERY

The multiple venues across Clerkenwell will feature over 350 design brands, presenting furniture, lighting, textiles, product design, surfaces and home accessories. The physicality of CDW is what makes it distinctive. From flooring and finishes to lighting, furniture and acoustic solutions, the event offers a visual and practical way to engage with the newest products on the market. Confirmed exhibitors include Chelsom, Vincent Sheppard, Ethimo, Kirkby Design, Morgan, Another Country, Universal Fibers, Arte and Ultrafabrics. Additionally, more than 160 showroom partners will also host product launches, talks and workshops. These include Allermuir, Ferm Living, Bolon, Tarkett, Duravit, Hansgrohe, Ideal Standard, Secto Design, J. Adams and Co, Bert Frank, Cosentino and Viaduct.

Notable product launches include an exclusive global preview of Interface’s Dressed Lines carpet tile collection, designed by sustainability and biophilic designer David Oakley and inspired by post-war minimalism. Oakley has been a leading product designer for Interface for over 25 years and is inspired by biomimicry, nature and sustainable design.

Further, another global collection from Interface, Lasting Impressions, offers a calmer and more centred vibe with tatami weave and plaster finishes, embracing the hallmarks of the handmade and the imperfect. Interface pride themselves on their carbon negative portfolio and have two seminar sessions taking place which bring together experts in both design and sustainability disciplines to talk about the possibility of combining beauty, innovation, biophilia, life-centred approach and care for our planet.