New Design Britain winners, Llewelyn-Bowen and Kelly Hoppen mark their presence at Interiors 2010

Designers, specifiers and aficionados flocked in thousands to Birmingham this January to attend Interiors 2010, the biggest event for the interiors industry in the UK. With five halls packed with 588 UK and international exhibitors, visitors enjoyed displays of the very latest designs.

According to the show organisers, all four days saw a steady flow of high quality visitors and large orders being booked, even until the very final minutes of the show.

The show had over 130 first time exhibitors. “We have had a phenomenal response to the exhibition with such a vast number of visitors of a high calibre interested in our products. It’s been more lucrative than we ever imagined prior to the show and proves even a small business with a small stand can be very successful here,” said soft furnishing manufacturer Autumn Down.

Returning exhibitors were equally pleased. “We flew past our target for the show by day two, so were exceeded in all our expectations. Interiors is firmly in the diary for 2011,” said Global Furniture Alliance.

The show had some 25,000 visitors, with many of them visiting this year’s new ‘Thinking Space’ area, which included the New Design Britain finalists, a showcase from Designersblock and a Seminar Theatre, which was packed for all of the sessions. Kelly Hoppen and Global Color Research / Mix Publication’s sessions were extremely popular, with people queuing outside the theatre.

Talent show: Works by New Design Britain finalists

NEW DESIGN BRITAIN

Featuring this year’s hottest young design talent in furnishing, lighting, soft furnishing and accessories, Interiors 2010 hosted this year’s New Design Britain finalists. The New Design Britain competition was open to graduates and postgraduates. With over 150 entries from over 80 universities, the final 16 were showcased at Interiors. Judges included Damian Walton from House of Fraser, Barbara Chandler from the London Evening Standard and Dids MacDonald from Anti Copying in Design (ACID).

“I think it is hugely important for the next generation to feel that the industry and professionals within it are interested. Product is all about design and if you don’t invest in design, you won’t progress the products. It is hugely important to see students thinking forward. It is about practical use and about being clever, but sometimes being incredibly simple,” Walton said.

There were three categories – Accessories, Fabrics & Surface Coverings and Furniture – and each was then divided into “Made in Britain” and “Designed in Britain.” 

Placements were awarded to some of the winning students at Marks & Spencer, Ercol and Willis & Gambier. Others won the opportunity to exhibit at Interiors 2011. One of the winners, Lorna Wilby, said, “I was so surprised and am really excited. This is such a big opportunity. I don’t graduate until the summer, so this will hopefully help kick-start my future career.”

BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY

Students on MA Interior Design and BA (Hons) Lighting and Textile courses from Birmingham City University contributed to four trend pavilions. They have been working in partnership with colour trend forecasters Global Color Research – Mix Publications.

The Birmingham showcase is just the beginning for the students whose work will then be toured round the London interiors shows then onto Interiors UAE in Abu Dhabi.

Using trend forecasts from Global Colour Research, the students’ project demonstrated how to apply trend forecasts to both contract and domestic environments, part of ‘Thinking Space’.

The projects unleashed the ideas of 120 students with the support of 10 industry engaged academics within Thinking Space, a key feature area at interiors this year.  The trends, provided by Global Color Research, entitled Whisper, Spirit, Genteel and Risk will be conceptualised by MA Interior Design Students and produced by BA (Hons) Lighting and Textile students under the leadership of curator and designer Stefan Bench and exhibition specialist John Hall.

Birmingham City University awarded the best student trend display, put together in co-operation with Global Color Research. Numerous other highlights included the Lighting Association Awards and a visit from interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, who came to get “a barometer of the sharp end of British design”.

Inspiring: The Designersblock segment

DESIGNERSBLOCK: THE PLACE TO BE

Featuring work from established companies, emerging designers and those in between, Designersblock was the area to inspire.

Work featured included textiles, lighting, upholstery, furniture, wallpapers, storage solutions,  some finished and ready for market, some purely conceptual and inspirational, others just waiting for an application.

Designersblock 2010 displayed ambitious new collaborations from Chris Eckersley and Sitting Firm, Puff & Flock, Lazerian, Stuart Melrose, Thomas Forsyth and Pure Whyte.