insideKENT Magazine Issue 34 - January 2015 | Page 106

INTERIORS

CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK ANNOUNCES
DATES, VENUES, AND FIRST NAMES FOR 2015
Internationally renowned design festival, Clerkenwell Design Week (19th-21st May 2015), will
return for its sixth year in 2015, bringing together the latest innovations by some of the best
creative forces from the UK, and around the world. Led by show director, William Knight,
the event is set to encompass the true spirit of the design community in one of the world's
most vibrant, creative hubs.

1st row photos: ©Sophie Mutevelian; 2nd row photos: © Jim Stephenson

Showroom partners in the neighbourhood remain
integral to Clerkenwell Design Week, and once
again, the festival will see showrooms, studios,
and galleries open their doors to the public in
order to present their most innovative projects
in architecture and design. Showrooms returning
to the festival in 2015 include Vitra, Arper, Poltrona
Frau and Brintons, with Modus and sound
specialists, Bowers & Wilkins joining the new
line up.
The structure of the 2015 event will be expanded
within the four focused exhibitions, housed in
Clerkenwell's most historic buildings. The Design
Factory will continue to present high profile UK
and international brands, along with a dedicated
lighting floor in the Farmiloe Building, while
Detail will show high-end decorative interiors with
an additional pavilion on St John's Square and
a Champagne garden by Champagne Jacquart
in the majestic Priory Church at the Order of St
John. Platform will see the work of talented, upand-coming designers in the subterranean
Victorian prison at The House of Detention, and
Additions, new to the festival in 2014, will once
again take over the Crypt on the Green at St.
James Church, exhibiting small design pieces
and accessories.

Returning exhibitors include Anglepoise, Another
Country, Pinch, Case Furniture, Deadgood,
Jennifer Newman Studio, SCP Contracts, MARK
Product and Discipline, while new exhibitors to
the festival include Taz Pollard, Concrete by
LCDA, H Furniture, Resident, GP & J Baker,
Tiipoi, Dorothy, and Black + Blum.
In addition to participating showrooms and
brands, Clerkenwell Design Week 2015 will offer
an array of newly commissioned projects, street
spectacles and pop-up workshops, as part of
its CDW Presents and Fringe series. These special
features, exclusive to the festival, will be stationed
prominently around Clerkenwell and created by
a range of established and emerging names from
the design and architecture worlds.
The talks programme, Conversations at
Clerkenwell, will return with an international lineup of industry speakers taking part in an
exhilarating series of seminars. Staged on the
third floor of Design Factory, the series offers an
arena to discuss new innovations, raise industry
issues, and network with fellow A&D professionals.
With previous speakers including Ron Arad, Arik
Levy, Patricia Urquiola, The Campana
Brothers, and Sir Peter Cook, the 2015
programme is set to deliver world-class, free
content right at the heart of the festival.

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As an annual three-day festival, Clerkenwell
Design Week has consistently increased its
influence and reach in the architecture and design
arena. In 2014, 32,300 visitors attended the
festival, 57% of whom were architects and
designers – a 10% increase to 2013. Growing
every year, 2014 also saw over 300 design brands
and 60 showrooms taking part at the festival
within the square mile of central Clerkenwell.
Clerkenwell Design Week 2015 will issue full
details of events, collaborations, and participants
in the months leading up to the festival.

The essential information
When: 19th-21st May 2015
Where