Now in its tenth year, the London Design Festival is upon us again, kicking off this Thursday 14th and running for 10 days until September 23rd.  With hundreds of events across the city showcasing cutting edge design, LDF is an aesthete’s orgasm and a pragmatist’s perfection.  The festival includes the work of – and events from – big industrial outfits to small emerging practices.  With both commercial and cultural elements, there is the opportunity to buy, browse or simply admire. Before the event, and with so much to see, Glass has created a shortlist of events which have captured our attention.  See. You. There.

The Big Five
The five regular “Design Destinations” are a must see, each of them a long-standing event in themselves. Spread across the city, these events are packed to the rafters with stands, each hosting their own programme of seminars, exhibitions and debates.  All have an individual look and feel and could easily fill an entire day each:

    •    100% DESIGN: September 19-22, Earl’s Court
    •    DECOREX INTERNATIONAL:  September 23-26, Royal Hospital Chelsea
    •    DESIGNJUNCTION: September 19-23, The Sorting Office – 21-31 New Oxford Street    
    •    SUPER BRANDS LONDON: September 20-23, Old Truman Brewery
    •    TENT LONDON: September 20-23, Old Truman Brewery

Bound to Inspire
For those of you who, choosing to ignore the advice of the masses, always judge books by their covers, then the Bookbinders Collective’s showcase at the V&A on the 21st is the event for you. A day of workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions by this group of professionals is bound to inspire (ahem). www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/1885/the-bookbinders-collective-3061

Talking Design
For the serious design-lovers amongst you, Central Saint Martins are hosting the Global Design Forum at their new (and beautiful) Kings Cross Central Campus. Taking place on the 18th September, industry royalty will be discussing the serious issues facing designers today, including the digital revolution and the recession.  Speakers include Zaha Hadid, Alberto Alessi, Katherine Firth and Thomas Heatherwick.  At £300 a pop, however, tickets to this event don’t come cheap.. www.globaldesignforum.com

Natural Beauty
Japanese potters Mashiko-Yaki’s ethos is “Beauty in Functionality”.  Their exhibition forms part of Tent London, displaying their elegant and simple collection.  Handcrafted as it has been since 1853, each piece is finished with a beautiful glaze – hand-poured with a ladle – in natural hues.  www.mashiko-pottery.jp

Food Train
While Glass wouldn’t normally recommend combining eating with London Transport to its readers (the germs are unthinkable), we will make an exception for this LDF pop-up restaurant. Uniting two pragmatic British icons of design, TfL and the Canteen restaurant chain, Transport for London Canteen at Design Junction promises fabulous fare amongst transport memorabilia and delicious design. Furniture is by Modus and Very Good & Proper, wallpaper designs by Printed Space and original Underground ceramic tiles by Craven Dunnill Jackfield. www.thedesignjunction.co.uk/eat/

Seeing Red
The Conran Shop’s displays in their Fulham store are worth a visit at any time of year.  They always make a special effort for LDF, however, and this year is no exception.  Celebrating 25 years since Terence et al moved into the former Michelin HQ, Conran have decided on a red theme, inspired by British post-boxes, and have commissioned a number of designers to create something in the red colourway specifically for the event, be it a new design or a red edition of a classic.  The exhibition will include works by over 40 designers including Jasper Morrison, Thomas Heatherwick, Nendo, John Pawson, Ingo Maurer, Marcel Wanders, Raw Edges and Alexander Taylor.

Indeed, this is just a small taste of the plethora of events, openings and exhibitions on offer.

by Emilie Lemons

London Design Festival