Lee Broom to debut Podium Vases within “immersive” floral installation

London Design Festival 2015: London designer Lee Broom is launching a collection of glass and marble vases at his Shoreditch showroom, which he will transform to look like a flower shop during the city’s design festival (+ slideshow).

Broom has returned to materials he has used in previous designs to create the Podium collection – his first range of vases. “Each season I look at what we haven’t touched on before,” he told Dezeen.

The vases are shaped similarly to his On The Rocks glasses, with the transparent material appearing to balance on top of the heavy stone bases, while the shapes nod back to his Department Store range launched in Milan earlier this year.

“It’s a continuation of the themes that I was doing in The Department Store collection – that idea of shapes and combining materials,” said Broom. “It’s about balance.”

The blown-glass vessels come in globe, cylinder and bowl shapes, with cylinders at the bottom to secure them on the bases, which come in two variations: a cube in black Nero Marquina marble and a rounded version in white Carrera marble.

Tops can be swapped by lifting out the glass sections and slotting in a different style. “We can adapt this collection more and more, do different bases with different vessels,” said Broom.

As he is launching vases, Broom has decided to turn his showroom on Rivington Street into a flower shop.

From 22 to 27 September 2015, panels filled with flowers will cover the walls of Broom’s shop and spheres decorated with flora will hang from the ceiling. Each of the arrangements in different parts of the shop will match the colours or shapes of the items they will provide the backdrop for.

“It will be an immersive journey through this sea of flowers,” said Broom.

Broom is developing a reputation for ambitious installations – in 2012 he turned his shop into an old-fashioned grocery store, while in Milan this year he transformed vacant shops into a mock department store.

Pieces from the Department Store collection, first presented at the space in Milan in April, will also be on show in London for the first time.

After the installation, his showroom will be refurbished to permanently accommodate the Department Store pieces along with other key items from Broom’s earlier collections. The vases will be available exclusively from the store and online for six months.

Broom’s Nouveau Rebel collection, which launched in London last year, also featured marble and the pieces were used within the interior of a restaurant in the city’s Soho district.

This year’s London Design Festival will take place from 19 to 27 September. The Flower Shop is included on our list of must-see exhibitions and installations across the city, which also features a showcase of Norwegian design and a pavilion that will host projects promoting weeds.

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