Clerkenwell Design Week

Last week we set off to The City to get some inspiration. Sadly we had to miss Clerkenwell Design Week last year due to other commitments, so when we saw it was that time of year again we jumped at the free entry wristbands. We thought it would be a great opportunity to get straight back into the London design scene and see what has been happening over the last 4 months.

A&K's Beasty Boys tribute pose 

This is a man carving a car. He was going to be there
a while, impressive stuff though!

          

             We especially like this little nod to the Queen's Jubilee.

After looking around the first of the three big venues, which held lots of smaller stalls, we went off to a Meet the Artist talk with the world-renowned typographer, designer and letterpress practitioner Alan Kitching. The talk was held at Milliken a textile manufacture, and was also being used as a Private View of Alan's new work. 

Alan Kitching (left)

We were lucky enough at our university (London College of Communication) to have one of the largest collections of letterpress machines and type, so we have dabbled in letterpress before. It is a very intricate, methodic and time consuming process with, when done as well as Alan Kitching, absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing pieces. No two prints are ever the same, making it a very exciting media to work with.

Interviewed by a journalist who had recently done a piece him, Alan gave an interesting introduction to his work and career. He had just completed a piece commissioned by Milliken for their anniversary (see below right). He told of his struggle when deciding what to do for the print and then his breakthrough and process of working. And 'Inspired/Inspiring' was definitely how we felt leaving the talk. This is what  Clerkenwell Design Week is all about for us.. finding talented people and learning from them.

                        

Talking of talented people we 'bumped' into two very good friends while walking around Clerkenwell deciding what venue to visit next. Tim and Chris are the founders of a new company called AJOTO who create 'beautiful tools for everyday journeys' (more on that another time). Anna studied her art foundation with Tim and both had heard that another friend from their foundation, Don Herd, was at CDW showcasing his new business venture, Room-9. We went along to check out their stall and found some beautifully crafted light designs. It was great to catch up with old friends and learn how they are really pushing to follow their dreams.

                           

With the sun now fully shining down on Clerkenwell we joined Tim and Chris for a cheeky drink in a beer garden before stumbling across a quirky 3 way ping pong table (that got quite competitive and was a lot of fun!). We looked around a few more venues and stalls before settling outside another pub to enjoy a bit of live music put on for the festival. Overall it was a very inspiring and enjoyable day out and just what we needed to remind us what an amazing and exciting city we have returned to. This summer is going to be great....

 

Enjoying a beer (or two) in the sun with the AJOTO boys.