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LDF13: Brompton Design District

Having explored the V&A and the Young Creative Poland exhibition, the next stop on my tour of the Brompton Design District was Mint. Founded in 1998 by Lina Kanafani, it’s a must-visit in this part of town.

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Mint had curated an exhibition called ‘Cabinets of Curiosity’ for the Festival in collaboration with the Czech gallery, Krehky. New limited edition cabinets and the curiosities within them had been designed exclusively for Krehky. Each piece was selected by Mint based on its ability to incite wonder.

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The surface of the Havet Cabinet by Stockholm-based Snickeriet is hand-chiselled to resemble a stormy ocean at night. Inside part of Daniel Woodford’s The Beast Will Out collection reflects “a story about a girl who finds herself in a dark and mystical space with three birds”.

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Daniel Amar’s wall-mounted cabinet is composed of eight wooden boxes with angled shelves that sit horizontally when the cabinet is mounted at the opposite angle. It was inspired by the work of constructivist artist Kazimir Malevich.

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It is filled with Natasha Wightman’s Drip Ceramics which were inspired by their own materials and making process.

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Latvian designer Laima Grigone’s Towards Reciprocity ceramics are inspired by the Cornish countryside. They sit on top of Aurelie Rimbert’s Canvas Trunk, a cabinet made from canvas and white coated detailing that can act as a sideboard, dresser or cupboard.

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Dik Scheepers’ Sine Cabinet was inspired by the corrugated PVC of temporary flower sellers’ booths. He has paired the corrugated PVC with oak to make people reassess it as a material, appreciating its simplicity and the way light falls through it. The ceramics inside called Pieces Of are also by Scheepers.

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Next door Squint had taken over a former garage and filled the cavernous space with color and pattern. The velvet collection is new for LDF – a selection of British furniture and accessories including mahogany tables covered in luxurious, yet water- and heat-proof, velvet in a variety of colours.

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Scandinavian design store Skandium always pulls the stops out for LDF and this year was no exception. I loved the ‘making of’ exhibition showing the design and making process of products available to buy elsewhere within the store.

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It was really interesting to see the iterations in the design process of both the Cate & Nelson teapot and the Emma Londsdale fabric.

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Our trip to the London Design Festival was supported by Airbnb.com.

Katie Treggiden is a purpose-driven journalist, author and, podcaster championing a circular approach to design – because Planet Earth needs better stories. She is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular, a program and membership community for designer-makers who want to join the circular economy. With 20 years' experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, Crafts Magazine and Monocle24 – as well as being Editor at Large for Design Milk. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through an emerging body of work that includes her fifth book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020), and a podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.