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LDF13: Mini Moderns Remix

I’ve been a fan of Mini Moderns for as long as I’ve been going to the London Design Festival—I think the secret to their success is that they are constantly upping their game; constantly pushing themselves. Remix is the best example of this yet and a really exciting project. With a self-confessed addiction to pattern, their products to date have revolved around surface design— wallpaper, fabrics, ceramics and of course the Environmental Responsible Paint range they launched at Tent last year. For Remix, they have given their distinctive colors and patterns to a group of nine designers they respect and given them free reign. The result is not so much a product range that pushes the envelope, but a product range that makes you forget the envelope ever existed. It takes Mini Moderns into furniture design, lighting design, glassware, accessories and even window films—and takes them to a whole new level—again!

I particularly like Zoe Murphy’s Buddha of Suburbia Drawers above. The pattern is inspired by the Mini Moderns Buddha of Suburbia range and screen printed using their Environmentally Responsible Paint – and the drawers are lined with their Darjeeling wallpaper.

Mini Moderns Remix

The UU 0044 JosphineB Chair by Urban Upholstery (co-founder Patrizia Sottile seen above with Mini Moderns co-founder Keith Stephenson) uses Mini Moderns’ Pavillion fabric together with other high quality fabrics on an upcycled chair frame.

Mini Moderns Remix

Daniela Gargiulo (seen above with Mini Moderns’ other co-founder Mark Hampshire) of Ivy Arch designed the C-60 lavender bags and purses, inspired by the Mini Moderns C-60 wallpaper, having met Keith and Mark via twitter!

Mini Moderns Remix

Following an initial collaboration with Brume, which resulted in the Whitby Window Film, this in the Darjeeling Window Film. Karen Lansdown, one of Brume’s directors says: “I really enjoy working with Keith and Mark—they are fantastic designers and always so enthusiastic.”

Mini Moderns Remix

Benjamin Boyce’s Color Accent Furniture is probably the most subtle collaboration – he’s simple used Mini Moderns paint colors as accents within his products.

Mini Moderns Remix

The MMG Lighting Range (left) was designed by Group Design, aka Jeremy Schotte and Richard Wells. They based the form of the steel frame on the pattern within the Mini Moderns Pavilion fabric, the colours on the recycled paint range and the shades are all Mini Moderns fabrics. Matt Sewell’s birds sit on the shelf above. They are made from FSC certified and re-appropriated wood and painted with Mini Moderns Environmentally Responsible Paint in Lido, Harvest Orange, Mustard, Pale Verdigris and Bitter Chocolate.

Mini Moderns Remix

Kevin Rimmington and Philip Vian have applied one element of the Darjeeling pattern to the bottom of glassware and laid it into espresso saucers, creating an understated expression of this complex pattern.

Mini Moderns Remix

And last, but by no means least, Leonard Pfeifer’s Darjeeling M1309 Drinks Bar works as a side table during the week, then on weekends can be wheeled into the centre of the room and opened up to reveal your cocktail making ingredients and apparatus, complete with fold down shelves for glasses and bottles.

As Mattie Stepanek said: “When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”

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.