Surface Spotlight Live


Located right in the centre of Surface Design Show, Surface Spotlight Live remains one of the highlights of every visitor’s trip to the exhibition.
Featuring innovative and tactile materials for our visitors to touch and feel, SSL gives a truly ‘hands-on’ experience for architects and designers to enjoy and learn from.
With a focus on new, SSL looks at the advanced properties and uses the different materials have to offer. SSL is curated by trend and colour expert Sally Angharad and global colour & trend forecasters Colour Hive.
There were two themes for Surface Spotlight Live 2020:
Trend expert Sally Angharad was showcasing a selection of innovative and exciting materials under the theme; ‘Close to Home.’
“From the making process to the disposal of goods, the environmental and social impacts of consumption are very Close to Home, inspiring the Surface Spotlight 2020 vision that explores locality and issues of waste in the production chain.
Surface Spotlight Live will feature either British manufacturers/designers or companies from other countries who focus solely on ingredients local to them. A key driver for the theme will be designs that have explored recycling (especially using unexpected ingredients).”
Global colour & trend forecasters, Colour Hive returned to present a dedicated materials installation – Materials Edit – featuring one-of-a-kind inspirational objects and materials.
Materials Edit was inspired by the drivers behind Colour Hive’s Spring Summer 2021 design story Factory.
“Recognising that process is an important part of design, but one that is all too often forgotten when work is predominantly focused on a screen, Factory welcomes a return to the back to basic principles of the Bauhaus movement. When form follows function, we are reminded of the vital connection between theory and practice.”
SURFACE SPOTLIGHT LIVE PREVIEW
“Surface Design Show gives us access to clients we wouldn’t usually meet and so it opens new opportunities that we wouldn't find at any other show.”
Lumino
“Smashing day at the Surface Design Show at the BDC today. Some seriously outstanding products on show over the past couple of days.”
Off The Wall Creative
“An outstanding show for us, great location and very high quality of interactions with architects and designers. Surface Design Show 2020 has delivered great opportunities for us!”
Lignia Wood Company
“Great show - lots of interesting new products. Inspirational!”
Gaby Higgs Architects
"It was my first time visiting Surface Design Show and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There is a fantastic array of surfaces on show and so much to see.”
Hurley Palmer Flatt
“I really liked the show. I think it was very well organised and I liked the type of visitors, that were serious, attentive and showed a lot of interest. There was a lot of promotion before and during the show.”
King Kong Design
“Surface Design Show this year has delivered us exactly the audience we wanted to talk to: architects, specifiers and designers. To gather these people together in one room for three days is priceless.”
James Latham