designjunction “breaks the mould of the traditional trade show”
Posted in: design movies, designjunction 2013, Dezeen movies, London Design Festival 2013Movie: show director Deborah Spencer and creative director Michael Sodeau take us through their highlights of designjunction 2013 in this movie Dezeen filmed during London Design Festival.
designjunction took place from 18 to 22 September 2013 in the industrial building of a former postal sorting office on New Oxford Street in London.
“We feel it breaks the mould of the traditional trade show,” says Spencer. “We’re in the heart of central London, in a derelict building that hasn’t been used for the last ten years. It’s a really interesting back-drop and it presents design in a much more interesting light.”
Spread over three floors, designjunction showcased a range of furniture and lighting products by both young designers and established brands from the UK and abroad.
In the movie we speak to exhibitors including London designer Paul Cocksedge, who was launching his Vamp gadget that plays music wirelessly through vintage speakers, Eero Koivisto of Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune, who was presenting a new range of wicker lamps, as well as Patrzia Moroso of Italian furniture brand Moroso, which provided the furniture for the VIP lounge.
The show also featured pop-up shops, bars and restaurants, as well as live manufacturing on site.
“I wanted exhibitors and visitors to feel that they could spend a full day here,” explains Michael Sodeau, creative director of the show. “The idea was to create a rhythm within the building, so it’s almost like different districts.”
“On the ground floor we have the pop-up shops and street food. Then on the first floor we move up to more exhibitions, slightly more open spaces and then up onto the second floor where we have brands and a more exclusive restaurant and bar.”
Spencer says one of her personal highlights of this year’s show was the Flash Factories area on the ground floor, which featured live demonstrations of various manufacturing techniques, from 3D printing and CNC routing to the production of hand-made bicycle saddles by British manufacturer Brooks.
“We’ve got this really strong contrast between craft-making and future digital technology,” she says.
This year also featured a new lighting section on the first floor called lightjunction.
“We’ve brought over a whole host of international brands that haven’t shown in the UK for many, many years,” Spencer explains.
She adds: “On top of that we’ve got these really strong eateries. So you’ll see Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa and there’s a Sodastream bar on the ground floor offering complimentary drinks.”
Spencer claims that it is the variety on offer that sets designjunction apart from other design shows.
“We’re more than just an exhibition,” she says. “We’re actually a production, we put on a proper show that caters for all areas of design.”
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