London Design Festival: Highlights from the Park Royal Design District

Park Royal Design District is all set to host its second edition during the London Design Festival. As an exciting platform for innovative designers, artists, and creators, the district will host multiple expositions from September 23rd, 2022, till September 25th, 2022. On view will be a plethora of design exhibitions and installations that uncover an inclusive, collaborative community of new and established creatives from across the globe. Pioneered by Sir John Sorrell and Ben Evans in 2003, the London Design Festival builds on London’s existing design scene and provides a platform for young and emerging artists to display their works to all design enthusiasts on a global platform.

In its 20th edition, the festival will enhance the reputation of the United Kingdom as an innovative powerhouse through a collaborative partnership with Imperial College London, the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, and City Docklands.

As part of LDF 2022, the Park Royal Design District will provide a stimulating roster of exhibitions, open studios, demonstrations, workshops, and product launches from various disciplines as an incubator for up-and-coming design talent. Leathercraft, millinery, art, furniture design, innovative design, glasswork, sustainable fashion, and product design are among the expertise of designers and manufacturers.

Tom Hertz presents his collection of functional furniture and objects

Uplifting the functionality of sculptural furniture, the Swedish artist and designer Tom Hertz creates fun furniture pieces. With an instinctive and intuitive approach to design, the London-based designer creates pieces that are colourful, edgy and offer a playful persona to each of his pieces. For the London Design Festival, Hertz is all set to unveil his latest works amongst which are the SoySueco Lamp, the Red Wine Rack and the Triceratops Bench.

Helena Elston Studio’s fashion debut investigating recycled textiles

The material research-based studio investigates the interconnections of waste with ecology and fashion. As part of the studio’s ongoing project f.i (fungal-integrated), the designer upcycled textile waste in combination with mycelial growth to create a series of wearable and sustainable fashion and accessories. All of the products in this series are created using waste incurred from across the city, such as recycled products, discarded textiles, garments, and coffee sacks, which are then manipulated through a unique mycelium process. Helena will be launching a collection of garments and eco-friendly accessories at different stages of mycelial growth and decomposition for the festival.

Bill Amberg Studio x Knepp Estates present a sustainable furniture collection

For LDF 2022, Bill Amberg Studio will introduce a fresh collection of eco-friendly leather and wooden furniture for a brand-new café at Knepp Estates, known for its pioneering rewilding venture. Using raw resources from the estate, including ash wood, as well as cattle and deer hide, Amberg has developed a brand new collection which will be on view during LDF 2022. Bill Amberg Studio has been well established for over three decades and now stands as an industry leader in bespoke leather products, interior designs and furniture designs. The studio brings together artisans from the worlds of saddlery, bag making, book binding, and other leather crafts to create bespoke pieces that are focused on circular material practices.

Blast Studio’s sustainable 3D printed works

Founded in 2018 by Paola Garnousset, Martin Detoef and Pierre de Pingon, Blast Studio aims at exploring the design dialogue between nature and technology for creating sustainable designs to fulfil the furniture, artefacts and architectural needs of any city. The studio’s works have previously been exhibited across the UK, France the Netherlands and South Korea. During the London Design Festival 2022, the creative design studio will be featuring a new and unique collection of lamps and tables that have been 3D printed using waste coffee cups and clay, transformed through mycelium. Alongside the collection, they will also present the latest prototypes of architectural works using 3D printed waste.

Born in Romania, the interdisciplinary artis graduated in sociology and moved to London in 2011. Drawing inferences from sociology and interior design practices, Marius David developed a creative approach sensitised towards the socio-cultural diversity of his newly found home alongside his love for perfect lines, balanced proportions, and volumes. For the festival, the artist will be showcasing provocative and intriguing new works in mixed art mediums, including his paintings ‘Anxiety’ and ‘Hug Me’.

Alongside the aforementioned exhibits and product launches and in contribution to the major global event, the design district will host a wide variety of immersive installations, including ‘Re-Made in Park Royal’ at the Excelsior Project Space, 'Reaching'—a public sculpture at the North Acton Tube Station, a collaborative exhibition by Teach DDS and David Samuel at the Woodward Space at North Acton, and the ‘Park Bench Project’ at the Dragor Road, Standard Road, and the Clay Works-Imperial College Halls, among other exhibitions. The district will also be host to many design workshops, talks, and events, including the Vitreous Enamelling by Chino Ridge, Mycelium Textiles by Helena Elston, the Art of Welding by Phil Webb; the ‘Made in London’ book launch; and a talk on design and sustainability featuring the thoughts of Bill Amberg, Helena Elston, and the Blast Studio, among other eventful happenings.

While the Interactive exhibitions and thought-provoking talks are in place to scale up the design scene in the district, a lot of open studios will also be showcasing their best in fashion, fine arts, interior design, architecture, and photography, including 3Man, Amy Sharrocks, Asha Vaidyanath, Boire, Bibi Blagsted, Bill Amberg Studio, Cobie Designs, Dandydsgn, Dorothea Magonet, and Klatch Studio, alongside many more designers.

Everything you need to know about London Design Festival 2022. Celebrating its 20th year, the festival takes over the city of London with installations, exhibitions, and talks from major design districts such as Brompton, Shoreditch Design Triangle, Greenwich Peninsula, Design London, Clerkenwell Design Trail, Park Royal, Mayfair, Bankside, King's Cross, William Morris Line, and Islington.