From 5-7 February Surface Design Show 2019 will take place at London’s Business Design Centre to provide a platform for architects, designers and specifiers to explore the best in interior and exterior surface materials, lighting design, development and innovation.
A dedicated trend-focused installation, Surface Spotlight Live, curated in collaboration by trend expert Sally Angharad and colour forecasters Colour Hive, will return to Surface Design Show 2019. The theme, One of a Kind, will aim to inspire a kinder approach to design. A series of thought-provoking and innovative products will be showcased, all which go beyond aesthetics to promote meaningful experiences, with highlights for the workplace and public realm.
Colour Hive, and its publication MIX Magazine, will bring back its own detailed exploration of trends in its installation The Trend Cluster as part of Surface Spotlight Live. Materials, products and objects on display will effectively communicate and inspire the trend for Kinship, as identified by them for Spring/Summer 2020. Their selections will be focussed on ingenious, sustainable and innovative materials, a perfect embodiment of the trend Kinship.
Expect plastic sea waste recycled into hard surfaces and textiles, humble and simple materials that are rethought, like a modular textile made of interconnected laser cut paper layers, or even surfaces made of potato waste. The Trend Cluster will not only be beautiful and colourful, it will also project a positive message, rejecting mindless consumption and elevating waste to art.
In One Of A Kind Sally Angharad will present a selection of materials from exhibitors and guest makers and companies, chosen for their innovative design and development. As a trend expert Sally researches the latest materials being produced, often unearthing pioneering and inventive products that put discovery of better materials ahead of aesthetic requirements – often altering the attitude towards what is desirable.
One of the exhibiting material makers to be featured is Orla Lawn (stand 544), a recent graduate of the Royal College of Art’s Masters in Mixed Media Textile Design. Working with combinations of many hard and soft materials, from concrete, wood and Jesmonite to silk, foam and chocolate, her work to date has explored tactility in the built environment and the boundaries between textiles and interiors.
An experienced exhibitor, Panaz (stand 140) will feature in the Surface Spotlight Live installation with their SilicaStone product, which is created from waste glass and ceramics. SilicaStone can be used indoors and out. A versatile and highly durable material, it can be used in table-tops, flooring and wall treatments in the workplace and public realm.
A guest material maker, Made of Air are combatting climate change. In an extraordinary process Made Of Air’s material is formed of waste biomass – atmospheric carbon - that has been baked into a solid char - where the CO2 is converted into carbon. This material can then be used to create a sustainable alternative material for use in construction, interiors and furniture. By repurposing and eventually landfilling, the material completes a larger circle: the carbon loop, returning the carbon originally burned into the atmosphere, back to the ground.
Another guest Poppy Pippin has created a range of terracotta ‘Moss Tiles’, designed to encourage moss growth. Applied in public realm areas the tiles can help absorb carbon dioxide, enhancing the surrounding air quality.
Exhibiting at the Surface Design Show 2019, PHEE (stand 544) recycles washed-up Sea Grass to make a variety of items from sunglasses to phone cases and furniture. A true sustainability project, PHEE aims to promote environmental and social responsibility.
