The London Design Fair filled three floors and felt like a much more cohesive offering this year.

The London Design Fair (encompassing a number of country pavilions, Tent London and Super Brands London, but not be confused with the London Design Festival, which is the London-wide event) was back at East London’s Truman Brewery for another year, this time filling the three floors and feeling like a much more cohesive offering. The exhibitors were of the usual high standard and included the likes of Katie Gillies Surface Design (above) showcasing her bespoke surfaces, all handmade in the UK.

Kana London was founded by fine artist Ana Kerin, who turned her hand to pottery after a background in sculpture. The resulting ceramics are handmade, functional, tactile and very much bear the ‘mark of the maker.’
Kana London was part of the British Craft Pavilion, curated by quarterly print magazine Hole & Corner, as was East London based Forest + Found. Established by Royal College of Art graduates Max Bainbridge and Abigail Booth, the collaboration involves working with wood, natural pigments and textiles, to produce sculptural and wall-based works.

Jesmonite ? a combination of natural raw materials with a blend of water-based pure acrylic polymers ? was the London Design Fair’s ‘material of the year.’ “We thought long and hard, and finally, our ignorance yielded our decision,” said the team. “Over the last twelve ...