Discover Clerkenwell Design Week 2022

Since its conception in 2009, Clerkenwell Design Week has risen to become one of the UK’s leading independent design festivals. This year’s events (running from 24-26 May 2022) will see architects, designers and brands showcasing their best work and collaborating in design-led fringe events, pop-ups, workshops, talks and showroom presentations. The London neighourhood comes alive for the three-day event, including showroom openings and furniture exhibitions at key historical venues, including the subterranean House of Detention (showcasing emerging designers and lighting) and the Crypt of St James' Church (hosting The British Collection).  With an eclectic mix of interiors, surfaces, accessories and product design shows, it can be disorienting trying to map it all out alone. Here, we’ve collated a roundup of select shows to get you started.

Clerkenwell Design Week 2022: the highlights

Kettal showroom opening

For their first year at Clerkenwell Design Week and thanks to their newly-opened, expansive space, Spanish outdoor furniture designer Kettal brings together all of the collections from their new catalogue, along with the ‘Pavilion O’ office structure. The nifty ‘Click & Work' system allows for quick modulation of the tailorable fittings and the light aluminium structure can be furnished with glass, wood and fabric, showcasing a spectrum of gentle and bold visual assets within its flexible design. Keen to maintain a philosophy of respect for nature, Kettal uses eco-friendly and recyclable materials, demonstrating their attention to key details and creating a cohesive link between Kettal’s products and their environment

15-16 Dufferin Street EC1Y 8UR

‘Ceramics: Neverending Artworks’ at Iris Ceramica Group

Italian street artist Camilla Falsini’s two day live performance of ceramics painting will describe environments, sustainability and energy transition. The multi faceted design work will be hosted at the ‘Ceramics: Neverending Artworks’ exhibition and will be held at the Iris Ceramica Group Flagship Store until 3 June 2022. Curated by non-profit organisation Yourban 2030, the show looks at art's ability to incite collective growth and improve environmental awareness. Falsini’s show is inspired by the Memphis movement with its graphic, asymmetrical patterns in bright colours and actively involves the spectator in a communal performance while paying homage to some of the authors of the movement, some of whom will have work on display at the show. 

Iris Ceramica Group Flagship Store, 61-67 Old Street

Benchmark launches workspace collection

Benchmark’s solid-wood additions to the ‘Victoria’ collection are mindful of a universal evolving approach to consumption and the growing need for sustainable furniture manufacture. The range carves, sands and slots American red oak and British-grown ash into a modular workbench, folding meeting table, sit-stand desk, and planter. Both timbers are selected for their contribution to a more sustainable process and pleasing organic tones. The ‘Migo’ stool will also be presented at the Benchmark show, the versatile stool originally designed by Pascal Hein for Wallpaper and AHEC's Discovered initiative, and recently established in The Design Museum’s permanent collection. Imagined as a dynamic challenge to our perception of chairs and stools, it can be used in various ways and is made efficiently from a single piece of red oak, making it a ‘model of sustainable design both in material choice and in its rationalised design’ explains co-founder of Benchmark, Sean Sutcliffe. 

British collection at St James Crypt, Clerkenwell Close, London EC1R 0EA

Colour Rush by Lothar Götz at VitrA

German artist Lothar Götz’s immersive, site-specific installation ‘Colour Rush’ will be housed at bathroom brand VitrA’s London showroom. The artwork utilises light, colour and geometry to present the space and will pair with discussions from industry professionals to give insights on the psychology of colour in design and art. The lineup includes Götz, Rhonda Drakeford and design director Erdem Akan. Alongside the discussions, a drop-in virtual reality experience will enable viewers to explore immersive bathroom spaces.

VitrA London Showroom, Turnmill building, 64 Turnmill Street, London EC1M 5RR

Alfredo Häberli at Moroso

Moroso’s latest products will show alongside the ‘Taba’ collection, realised by Swiss-Argentinian designer Alfredo Häberli in collaboration with the Italian company. In formulating the collection, Häberli ‘played with the precision of line, and poetics of organic language’ to create a series of asymmetric ottomans, armchairs, a bench and sofa. The graphic structures of the sofa are based on items from an Argentinian childhood game, the shapes were then developed to bring comfort and useability to the forefront of the design. Moroso’s most recent products at the show will be the ‘get lucky’ and ‘ruff’ chairs, which encompass ‘poetry and art’, along with the modulable ‘Frame-shift’ bookcase, and ‘Cloudscape’ sofa series. The products from the ‘Taba’ collection and Moroso range intersect in a moment of versatile comfort and simplicity in their adjustability and reduced features. 

7-15 Rosebery Avenue - London - EC1R 4SP

Revo collection by Pearson Lloyd for Profim

Adding to the extensive list of brands who are innovating in an era of sustainability, Polish office furniture company Profim is demonstrating a circular economy with the launch of ‘Revo’. Rounded contours and soft colours characterise this distinctive range of sofas, benches, screens and stools. The extensive modular configurations facilitate wildly differentiated working environments. In striving to create a circular economy, Profim looked to recycled expanded propylene, reducing the weight and consequently carbon footprint of ‘Revo's production and transport. The components to the furniture pieces are easily deconstructed, allowing them to be placed back into a conscious manufacturing cycle. The versatile textiles mimic natural fibres which come from two sources - one from consumer recycled plastic, and the other from salvaged marine plastics. The collection by Pearson Lloyd is an important step towards robust sustainability, with thoughtful visual design remaining prominent.

Flokk Showroom, 63 Central Street, London EC1V 3AF

Meditation at Ultrafabrics 

Ultrafabrics are highlighting colour’s capacity to induce serenity along with stylist Despina Curtis through a reinstatement of white hues in the home. Their Hush range of fabrics will cover 13 new whites and off-whites with enhanced stain resistance, antimicrobial protection, or UV endurance options. Bringing sensory experiences to the forefront of their showcase, Ultrafabrics will be curating a series of multisensory and holistic events, influencing viewers to take a moment of quiet and experience the tranquil environment. Throughout the week, a guided meditation, herbal tea blending and talks by industry professionals will explore the importance of engaging our senses through art and design. 

6 Northburgh Street, EC1V 0AY

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