Friends&Co Falls for Autumn
London Design Festival, client news and
things we are excited about
September 12, 2024
Clerkenwell Design Week in May kicked off a particularly busy spring for us at Friends&Co. As well as launching the 15th edition of this global design festival, we produced a white paper on design for neurodivergent people for our client Ultrafabrics and curated a talk for Conversations at Clerkenwell to discuss the research. A highlight of the show was our client’s Brick from a Stone pavilion, in the revitalised Clerkenwell Green which attracted unprecedented press coverage.
We supported the Design Museum during its summer celebration marking the 60th Anniversary of Habitat, and loved working with the UK’s leading graduate design event, New Designers. Now, after a well-earned break, we’re kicking off an action-packed autumn.
Here's a round-up of what is happening:
NEW CLIENTS
MOREYSMITH + STUDIOMOREY
We’re delighted to announce that we have started working with RIBA chartered architects and interior designers MoreySmith and their residential brand StudioMorey. With a passion for sustainability and a flair for elegant interiors, their impressive roster of commercial and residential clients respectively is second-to-none. We’ll be reaching out with news and views very soon.
London Design Festival:
Forage & Feast at SoShiro, 13th – 28th Sept
London-based Estonian designer Helis Heiter celebrates the beauty of foraging at gallery and artist-led events space SoShiro in the Mayfair Design District during LDF 2024. The exhibition encourages conversations around conscious consumption, food waste and the relationship between food and the environment through interactive installations, soundscapes and scents. If you would like to join us for the VIP/press launch on Monday 16th September email: hello@soshiro.co
Two exceptional ceramics auctions
Makk, the UK’s market-leading specialist in contemporary ceramics, has a busy November ahead with two auctions running in parallel. An important collection from a South African collector will go under the hammer at the same time as pieces from leading Mingei artists through to Sodeisha and contemporary makers.
A puzzle for London
Think you know your way round London’s historical streets? Think again. Dex, one of the founders of creative branding and interiors house Run for the Hills, has drawn an intricate, graphic map of the capital showcasing its vibrant music scene, literary tradition and flourishing film industry. Then, to invite careful scrutiny and a near-impossible challenge, he has turned it into a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle made from 100% recycled materials.
Bringing the Big Apple to Paris
Fast-casual dining brand Manhattn's has just opened its first upmarket burger joint in France on Rue Montorgueil in Paris. Antwerp-based independent design and interiors studio WeWantMore set the tone for the chain’s seven restaurants across Belgium, and has blended the Big Apple’s metro stations, industrial metalwork and hints of Belgian art deco for this first foray into the City of Light. Stay tuned for news on WeWantMore's expansion into London.
Mixing artistry and practicality
The new Concept Pro range from Ultrafabrics offers designers the option of upholstering furniture with a pop of colour and an additional dash of durability. Completely free of nasty chemicals (PFAS), this eco-friendly new fabric is also resistant to stubborn stains like leaking ballpoint pens and spills from ketchup, mustard or wine. Concept Pro blends comfort, quality and convenience and comes in 25 curated colours ranging from serene to vibrant.
And finally…
We are really, really excited about The World of Tim Burton exhibition at the Design Museum (25 October 2024 - 21 April 2025).
This major exhibition will invite visitors into Burton's world through an exploration of the design of his unique body of work. While best-known for his cinematic endeavours, this show will display the full extent of his production as an illustrator, painter, photographer and author, as well as exploring key collaborations with designers. As a multi-disciplinary artist, his creations extend beyond the limits of mediums and formats.
Over 600 incredible items will be brought together in the exhibition to chart the evolution of Burton’s design aesthetic. Objects are loaned from his extensive personal archives, key film studio archives including Paramount, Amazon MGM Studios, and Warner Bros., and the private collections of Burton’s collaborators. Many items have never been on public display in the UK before.