Inside Grand Designs Live... The designers

By Mark Kebble on April 21st 2010

This year’s Grand Designs Live London is supporting new and emerging design talent by creating the ‘Grand Designs Live Bursary’; a unique opportunity for young designers to break into the design industry offering subsidised space to exhibit, for the first time ever, at this year’s Grand Designs Live 2010 at London’s ExCel centre.

 

The new Grand Designs Bursary is an exciting feature that will give emerging designers from the fields of art and product design the opportunity to showcase their creative developments and visions. Developed to give talented young people the opportunity to showcase their work and design skills, it’s also a chance to gain valuable exposure to a potential consumer and trade audience. The new Grand Designs Live bursary offers a fantastic platform to promote the work of students, amateurs and budding designers alike, and the chance to launch and sell their products whilst interacting with the consumer audience directly.

 

Visitors will be able to purchase and commission unique and bespoke products for their homes from designers who are not available on the high street. There will be everything from clock-makers, furniture designers, sculptors, fine artists and lighting designers.

 

Grand Designs Live is synonymous with innovation, design, interiors, homes build and cutting-edge products and technologies, and creating this new Design Bursary offers the event the chance to reach out to tomorrow’s creative personalities with even more exciting and interactive product design for its consumers.

 

Here are some of the emerging designers who will be at the show:

 

Undergrowth Designs

Inspired by the obscure and uncanny in life, Undergrowth Designs breathes life into everyday objects to create an unconscious dialog between the object and the user. The aim of the designs is to enthral the user and give a sense of other worldliness to everyday life. At Grand Designs Live London, Undergrowth Designs will showcase ‘Blaue Blume Tea Service’ and will also launch ‘A Sweet Paradise’ cake stand, ‘Lucid Dreaming’ glass tumblers and ‘Wonderland Spoons’, which are inspired by the fantasy adventure Alice in Wonderland.

 

The cutlery set includes the ‘Eden Lady’ Fork, ‘Dandy Boy’ Spoon and ‘Killer Rabbit’ Knife. Get into the thoughts of each character with the ‘thought bubble’ of each character represented by the magnifying glass for you to look through. Lovingly handcrafted in polished pewter, each of these exquisite pieces puts a little adventure back into dinner time.

These pieces along with the many other beautiful homeswares are available to buy at Undergrowth Designs stand E61.

 

Studio @ 37

Studio @ 37 are two designers (Laura Masson and Angela Pointon) whose designs centre around taking something old and creating something new, an object that had one purpose and which is then given a different one. For example, an old glass poison bottle can be re-created and altered and become a treasured beautiful vessel for the table or a flower. Their drawings and patterns are developed from things in the past and present.

 

Allowing their drawings to integrate with the ceramic techniques gives a fresh feel to their work, with the porcelain acting as a strong canvas for colour, which is a very important aspect of Studio @ 37’s work. Working together they have created a table range reinventing purposes for objects, bringing in play, fun and interaction at the family and friends dining table.

Studio @ 37 will be at stand E26.

 

Abigail Borg

Emerging surface pattern designer Abigail Borg will exhibit her award-winning collection of wallpapers at Grand Designs Live London. Her collection, entitled 'Peonies and Lilies and Other Pretties’, launched Abigail into the public eye as she was selected out of the country’s leading design graduates to win the prestigious 'New Designer of the Year 2008' award.

 

Consumers will be able to choose and buy from five wallpaper designs at the show. Abigail’s style of work displays her love of intricate hand-drawn design, and draws inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th Century. Utilising modern digital print techniques, Abigail is able to produce detailed, intricate and colourful designs that could not be achieved by traditional screen-print methods. Abigail’s intricate portfolio has impressed many clients, and has worked as a freelance illustrator alongside companies such as Laura Ashley and Johnson & Johnson.

Wallpapers are priced at £150 per 10m x 52cm roll. Design Arcade stand E84.

 

Erica Wakerly

Erica Wakerly is an award-winning designer known for her super modern patterns, which combine a delicate use of fine line, geometry, composition and clever use of metallics, designed to reflect ambient or natural light in a room. Her wallpapers are for those wishing to make a statement, but also a space to relax.

 

At the show, Erica will be showing a preview for her Wallpaper Collection 03, this collection will include ‘Pinstripe’, ‘Screwed Up’, ‘Hothouse’ and ‘Tapet-Cafe Tile’. She will also be showing her new collection of printed and woven upholstery fabrics.

Visit Erica Wakerly at the Design Arcade stand E83.

 

Natasha Ferguson

Natasha Ferguson’s light designs are inspired by energy saving light bulbs. As a designer she wants to show how these bulbs can be embraced through creating interesting shapes in which the bulbs can be displayed. By working with leftovers of acrylic, Natasha creates intricate designs which can be hung from the ceiling pendant – giving a room a fantastic focal point.

Natasha Ferguson – Design Arcade stand E79.

 

Shane Holland

Shane Holland Design Workshops is an award-winning Irish company that produce sculptural and functional elements in mixed materials. The skilled team of designers and crafts persons design and build unique pieces including lighting and furniture collections. They have exhibited internationally and have discerning clients in Ireland, the UK, Europe, the USA, Russia and the Middle East. This will be the first time the company will be exhibiting at

Grand Designs Live London.

Shane Holland Design - stand E2.

 

the letter M

Formed as a result of Emily Tyer’s day job (interior design), the letter M is a direct response to the lack of storytelling or information provided about designed items today. M produces fabrics, wallpaper and home wares with inspiration from everyday items, historical artefacts and throwaway items.

 

The new collection ‘P is for Piano’, will be launched at Grand Designs Live London. The range is inspired by the piano rolls of the late 1890s onwards, and comprises a series of fabrics, papers and home products.

the letter M furnishings can be seen and bought at stand E19.

 

re-ply designs

re-ply designs is an emerging company producing Eco Furniture and Accessories in West Wales. Deborah Elsaesser designs and makes each piece using natural and recycled materials, with a style that is simple and contemporary.

 

Through her experimentation of materials, Deborah has developed a unique range of products that incorporate sustainability. Concentrating on ‘The re-plied Collection’, she utilises the plywood off-cuts from several local companies to make her unique and functional furniture.

re-ply designs offer a wide range of products all of which will be available at in the Design Arcade at stand E81.

 

Zita Menyhart

The creative vision of Hungarian born designer Zita Menyhart conceived the fresh, unique and contemporary piece of furniture - UNA. The UNA SET is a contemporary elliptical unit that comprises a coffee table with a magazine holder and two seats designed to sit well in compact areas.

 

Beautifully crafted for the efficient use of space, the seats cleverly fit underneath the table to form a single smoothly curved solid piece. In line with this theme, the base of the table functions as a storage space for magazines, newspapers and even a wine or champagne bottle. To meet practical and aesthetic demands, the units can be used individually or collectively to create striking decorative combinations.

UNA is being launched at Grand Designs Live - visit at stand E37 in the Design Arcade.

 

Eno Itauma Botanical Geo’s

An eye for detail, ignored qualities and a love for mathematical concepts – this is where the Botanical Geo’s inspiration began. The home furnishings collection encompasses screen and digital printing and embroidery, executed with a minimalist colour palette.

The pieces will be showcased at stand E40.

 

Jason Muteham

Award-winning designer Jason Muteham will launch a new range of exciting radiator covers at Grand Designs Live London. Jason creates a modern contemporary look for radiators that are often dull.

 

With clean simple lines and the natural beauty of wood, one of these stylish radiator covers will transform the average standard radiator into an eye-catching feature piece in any room. The covers are made to order, to fit most sizes and styles of radiator. These handmade pieces are available in a wide range of timber finishes to either match existing furniture or can be made in a dramatically contrasting timber to provide the ultimate unique feature piece.

Jason Muteham Radiator Covers stand E7.

 

Liquid Glass

Liquid Glass will be showcasing an innovative contemporary range of glassware, including lighting, tableware, garden features and beautiful vases. Liquid Glass is also starting an eco range, which is using recycled glass to make products.

 

Ranges of work include the Orb range made with combining hot glass and fusing to make eye catching pieces with intricate patterning. Beautiful coloured stemware is another range with the opportunity to own hand blown glasses.

 

Liquid Glass also has a new designer, Katherine Huskie, who will be showcasing her work at the event. The Spiral range is one of Katherine’s new ranges which incorporates a vivid colour twist. Katherine is also working on a range combining fused and hot glass techniques. This range will enable Katherine to bring in her love of textiles patterns.

Liquid Glass Design Arcade stand E41.

 

Helen Brown

Helen Brown, one of the East Midland’s up and coming designer/makers, will be exhibiting her very personal and individual ceramic sculptures at this year’s Grand Designs Live London. Helen is a ceramic artist specialising in figurative sculpture, using the figure as a vehicle to represent ideas of form, as well as a metaphor to express aspects of the human condition.

 

Using a variety of techniques to produce her work at her studio in Derbyshire, Helen is currently developing her very distinctive designs to unveil at the show. Helen’s work is multi-layered, as are her influences, ranging from ancient art through to the more recent work of 20th Century sculptors. She draws inspiration from the environment, landscape, ancient spaces and organic forms.

You can view and buy Helen Brown’s work at stand E42.

 

Lizzie Mary Cullen

Lizzie Mary Cullen is a multi award-winning illustrator and designer. At her stand in the Design Arcade, Lizzie will be exhibiting her multi-award winning ‘Psycho-Geographic Maps’, which were exhibited internationally in London, New York and Paris.

 

She will also be showing her wall murals made exclusively for Zizzi Italian Eateries, and their

new menu designs. Lizzie will also be launching her new series of Psyco-Geographies done of the UK and will also be doing a live drawing at Grand Designs Live London. Her stand will be made to look like a ‘living map’ which will be a spectacular piece that visitors will not be able to miss!

See Lizzie Mary Cullen create a spectacular piece of art in her stand E12

 

Belgin Bozsahin

Belgin Bozsahin is an emerging Turkish sculptor who has had the privilege of exhibiting her work in Istanbul, Bergen and London. Some of her amazing sculptural pieces belong to private collectors in London and the US.

 

Belgin works with materials ranging from paper, yarn, fabric, and also much harder materials like marble, mosaic, and ceramics. She will be exhibiting many of her pieces

in the Design Arcade.

Belgin Bozsahin will be exhibiting her sculptures at stand E43.

 

Richard Hackney

Richard Hackney studied Contemporary Crafts at University College Falmouth where he developed skills in fine metal and automata. He creates objects and automata which are inspired by his imagination, dreams and thoughts. Richard likes to discover and horde things and then transform these objects into new objects of desire and intrigue.

 

For Grand Designs Live London Richard has produced a new body of automaton to feature

alongside his bizarre range of Flying Light Bulbs.

Find more of Richard Hackney’s bizarre and wonderful sculptures at his stand E23.

 

The Design Arcade in the Grand Interiors Hall is one of seven sections at Grand Designs Live London, which also includes Grand Build sponsored by VELUX, Grand Technology and the House of the Future presented by Philips, Grand Village sponsored by first direct, Grand Kitchens sponsored by Miele, Grand Bathrooms and Grand Gardens sponsored by Cuprinol.

 

The award-winning consumer show for design and inspiration for the home is based on the hugely popular and successful Channel 4 TV series – presented by design guru Kevin McCloud. Now in its sixth year, Grand Designs Live London, which runs from the May 1-9 2010, brings together over 500 exhibitors who will offer visitors amazing products, ideas and free expert advice – everything a home builder and renovator will need all under one roof.

 

Book tickets now and save £5 at www.granddesignslive.com or call the 24 hour box office on 0844 581 0771 (kids go free)

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