Clerkenwell Design Week returns in 2015 for sixth edition
Dezeen promotion: this year's Clerkenwell Design Week festival in London will present new product launches across four exhibitions from 19 to 21 May.
Set to return for its sixth edition, the event is spread over three days and takes place at a variety of venues across the historic central London district of Clerkenwell.
Four key exhibitions will take place alongside installations, open showrooms, and a series of talks focused on design and architecture.
The Farmiloe Building, a former Victorian merchant's warehouse, will host the Design Factory exhibition of new products by international brands.
The Priory Church at the Order of St John monastery will house high-end decorative interior products in an exhibition called Detail.
Platform, dedicated to work by emerging designers, will return to the House of Detention – a decommissioned prison building – and the Additions showcase of small products and accessories will take up residence in the Crypt on the Green at St James Church.
Over 60 designers and brands including Carl Hansen & Søn, Moroso, Vitra and Arper will host events and late openings at their showrooms in the area.
For more information about the event and to register to attend for free, visit the Clerkenwell Design Week website.
Here are some further details from the organisers:
Clerkenwell Design Week (19-21 May) returns for sixth edition
Clerkenwell Design Week 2015 (19-21 May) is set to build on the success of its previous five editions with an impressive mix of cutting-edge installations, exclusive product launches and insights into contemporary design and architecture. The annual festival will showcase the latest innovations by designers and manufacturers from the UK and around the world. Set against the historic backdrop of Clerkenwell, the three-day festival will be centred upon leading design showrooms in the neighbourhood, as well as four exhibitions - Design Factory, Platform, Detail and Additions.
Over 60 showrooms will be part of Clerkenwell Design Week 2015. New participants including heritage brand Carl Hansen & Søn, Italian furniture company Moroso and modernist storage specialist USM will be joined by long-term global supporters including Vitra, Arper, Poltrona Frau, Knoll, Domus, Humanscale, Brunner and Kusch+Co.
Carl Hansen & Søn will be opening its first London showroom in Clerkenwell, located at 16a Bowling Green Lane. Moroso will return to the 2015 festival. Its Clerkenwell showroom will host a UK preview of its 2015 collections, including an exclusive furniture project by David Adjaye, and an in-conversation session between the architect and Patrizia Moroso.
Swiss manufacturer Vitra will also return to CDW 2015 with a retrospective on the life and works of architect Jean Prouve, showcasing a new extension to its Prouve RAW collection. Expect a series of exciting and engaging events in its Clerkenwell showroom during the festival.
To mark the 50th anniversary of its iconic LC collection while commemorating 50 years since Le Corbusier's death, Cassina will present LC50, a reissue of the original 1960s collection comprising contemporary designs by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand at the Poltrona Frau showroom.
Clerkenwell Design Week's well-established exhibitions provide a real breadth of product innovation, from leading international brands to emerging design studios. The largest of these design-led destinations is the Design Factory at the Farmiloe Building, featuring four floors of established contemporary interiors brands, both from the UK and overseas.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Pinch will return to the festival and launch its Avery barstool, a rigorously simple design realised in English oak, while German furniture maker Zeitraum will unveil its M11 timber framed table by Mathias Hahn.
New to the Design Factory this year include Thonet with the UK debut of its 808 lounge chair by Formstelle; H, which will launch its 2015 collection by Hierve; Baines&Fricker, which will come to the festival with two new furniture ranges, SB01 Ply and BF02 Pew; and start up company TedWood, founded by designer maker Ted Jefferies, launching a new range of furniture and lighting designs.
The Lighting Factory, a dedicated lighting floor, will also return to the venue. Curiousa and Curiousa will launch a new collection of hand-blown glass pendants available in slate grey, smoked olive and aubergine, while Occhio will present its latest range including the Lei light, the first shade luminaire with adjustable radiance holding two luminaires in one. Other lighting brands that will exhibit at Clerkenwell Design Week include Artemide, Prandina, Catellani & Smith, Secto, Terence Woodgate, SCP Contracts and Mullan Lighting.
Platform at the House of Detention has established itself as the place to spot up-and-coming design talent during Clerkenwell Design Week. These include Louise Tucker, a Chelsea College of Art graduate whose fascination with weaving wood veneer led her to launching Pren, a sculptural lighting collection that takes its name from the Welsh for wood.
Out of the Valley is another design start up, the brainchild of designer maker Rupert McKelvie. With experience in designing and building bespoke cabins for off-grid living, Out of the Valley will launch its first furniture collection inspired by this back to nature ethos.
The majestic Priory Church at the Order of St John is home to Detail, the place to head to for high-end decorative interior products. The church's garden will be furnished with Cane-line's latest outdoor furniture, complemented by a Champagne Jaquart bar.
Newcomer London-based design studio Tiipoi will unveil its Mirror 6 collection at Detail, an exclusive range of cast metal wall-mounted and hand held mirrors made by a local family in Kerala, inspired by the original Mirror 6. Furniture maker Jonathan Baring will showcase his hand crafted oak and ebony cabinet, as well as his orange cracked gesso and nickel console table.
After last year's debut, Additions – which is given over to small design-led pieces and accessories at the Crypt on the Green at St James Church – will return for 2015. New exhibitors include France-based HJEM, which will launch a range of design-conscious homewares and papergoods; British surface designer and illustrator Kelly Hatt, who will showcase a collection of aluminium etched illustrations, inspired by scuffs, scratches and graffiti found on public transport; ceramicist Taz Pollard, who will debut her new tableware range with a playful design; and Wael Seaiby, who has recently been named by Design Council as one of its 70 'Ones to Watch'.
CDW Presents, the festival's commission and installation programme, will return showcasing original projects and street installations by established and emerging names from the design and architecture worlds, stationed across all areas of Clerkenwell. As part of the Fringe series, local creative practices, from architects to branding agencies and craft studios, will host workshops and displays open to the public during the festival. This wider programme includes a new venue at The Old Sessions House on Clerkenwell Green, hosting Icon's House of Culture.