June 26, 2024

Key highlights from Clerkenwell Design Week 2024

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We visited Clerkenwell last month for the UK’s leading design festival, Clerkenwell Design Week in an effort to review the latest trends in office interior design, commercial interiors and new product design. Our team visited a large number of showrooms despite the rain and the most prominent trends we observed are noted here in this article.

  • Focus on sustainability
  • Products to address privacy and noise in the workplace
  • Muted colour schemes with pops of vibrant colours

 

 

Focus on sustainability:

It was clear to see that sustainable practices and environmental commitments are truly embedded within the commercial furniture industry. We highlighted this in our article last month, noting both Humanscale and Actiu as two of our key manufacturer partners who demonstrate long-term commitments toward sustainability and the environment. Our chosen manufacturers who we represent in Ireland as a reseller, are focused on using recycled materials and also ensuring that the furniture they manufacture can be fully recycled, where possible.

We saw a number of products on display in the CDW showrooms that further demonstrate this sustainable commitment. The Path Chair by Humanscale and the collection of acoustic panels and hanging screens from Friends of Wilson are two key examples of products that have sustainability as the core focus for the complete lifecycle of these products.  The sequence hanging screens displayed in the Friends of Wilson showroom are made from 100% wool felt, a completely natural 100% biodegradable fibre, easy to repurpose and recycle. The Path Chair by Humanscale has a mesh-like textile made from upcycled plastic bottles.

 

Products to address privacy and noise in the workplace:

Privacy & Noise continue to be a focal point of obstacles to overcome in the workplace. Privacy pods dominated the vast majority of showrooms along with acoustic solutions as a prominent feature. Again, a large volume of the products and new collections on display have been created with sustainability in mind, with many new collections integrating 100% recycled post-consumer material into their manufacturing process. The new Framery Smart Pod collection that we have on display locally here in Sandyford, Dublin 18 was another key feature and ties in with the focus on sustainability, addressing privacy needs, technology integration and can be recycled at their end of life cycle. They are also GREENGUARD certified. For more information on Framery Smart Pods, please review our article where we highlight the key features and specifications of the Framery Smart Pods. Abstracta showcased their latest sculptural floor screen, Vika, that can double up as a room divider and provide effective sound absorption. It can be made with or without luminaire.

 

Muted colour schemes with pops of vibrant colours:

Muted colours were still dominant in most showrooms, with pops of colour throughout all the showrooms we visited. Bisley showcased a very colourful showroom including their new colours of Berry and Marine Green in their re-designed space in Clerkenwell. Their new Arches collection includes a variety of mobile screens, tables, stools, benches and acoustic canopies. Camira, who celebrated their 50th anniversary during CDW launched Patternmaker, a digitally printed colour on a carefully curated woven felt, with a composition of 100% virgin wool to pair colour and pattern for commercial and hospitality settings. Patternmaker combines rich warm neutrals with cool slate blues and is suitable for task seating, soft seating and privacy panels / dividers / screens.

It was encouraging to see a good mix of new product launches across privacy pods, acoustic solutions, break out furniture and ergonomic task seating and we look forward to our next trade exhibition when we visit Orgatec in Cologne this October 2024.

camira clarkenwell design week london 24.05.2022
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