Design Undefined at Clerkenwell London

Design Undefined brings together some of the most inventive design thinkers of today for a celebration of the fresh and unconventional, featuring RCA fellow Kia Utzon-Frank, London Design Guide’s Max Fraser, Seetal Solanki of Matter, Katie Treggiden of Fiera magazine and Troo Heath-Crew of Tree Couture. 

From 24 to 26 May, Clerkenwell London brings together some of the most innovative figures in contemporary design for a packed three-day programme of workshops, demonstrations and exclusive product showcases. Makers and thinkers from across the design spectrum will occupy various areas within Clerkenwell London, each offering a unique perspective on design, materials and the meaning and function of objects.

As a venue, Clerkenwell London itself is almost impossible to categorise, encompassing an interiors and accessories store, fashion boutique, perfumery, restaurant, café, bar, lounge and event space – all flowing seamlessly into each other. It is a place that celebrates design in all its forms, and which invites visitors to relax, shop, dine, drink and open themselves up to the discovery of new objects, experiences and talents.

DESIGN UNDEFINED | DESIGNER LINE-UP

A goldsmith, sculptor, inventor, designer, cake decorator and all-round creative polymath whose work defies pigeonholing. Clerkenwell London commissioned Kia to create a bespoke version of her beautiful and innovatively engineered Louver Twisting Comb shutter system, which will be on show in the window display.Kia will also be taking over The Keep, Clerkenwell London’s glass-encased showroom to mark the launch of her KUFstudios brand and present a genre-defying selection of other pieces from her practice, including jewellery, string sculpture and her astonishing KUFCakes – delicious geometric cakes almost indistinguishable from polished blocks of stone and marble. A series of workshops will give visitors the opportunity to try their hands at jewellery-making, string sculpture and more. 

Curator, writer and editor of the London Design Guide will be exploring the personal attachments that humans have to certain objects and the hows and whys behind this sentimental impulse. Max has selected 24 individuals to each choose a single object and comment on what it means to them.Displayed in the Wine Keep downstairs, the objects revealed may not be luxury or even ‘designed’ items, but rather things that tell a story and have special provenance linked to them – it might be something that was inherited from your grandmother, it could be an object that was found in a Parisian flea market for 50 cents; it could be something that is wonderfully functional in daily use, or a tactile article that’s simply a pleasure to handle. 

Katie Treggiden | The Fiera Edit

Founder and editor of Fiera magazine, which provides a biannual platform for the best work from up- and-coming designers discovered at global design fairs. For the duration of the event, Fiera has a room of its own at Clerkenwell London, and Katie has selected three emerging international talents from different design disciplines to showcase their work, offering a glimpse of the innovations we can expect to see in the design world of tomorrow.They include architect and designer Marta Bordes, whose new Elastic Lights use coloured elastic cords to bring movement and play to traditional ceramic structures; product designer and furniture designer Katharina Eisenköc, whose Stone&Mirror series explores the tension between man-made materials and natural resources; and Novocastrian, creators of beautiful furniture from brass, stone and steel. 

Seetal Solanki | Materials Matter 

Founder of materials agency and research resource Matter, Seetal Solanki will use Clerkenwell London’s Fashion Room to explore the possibilities and applications of three materials: aluminium, marble and bamboo, with workshops and discussions devoted to one material on each of the three days. By bringing together unexpected combinations of objects and highlighting unusual material uses, Seetal will cause us to question our preconceptions about what things can be made of. 

Makers of contemporary fine furniture in solid sustainable hardwoods, Tree Couture will be displaying their collection of limited edition pieces at Clerkenwell London, as well as laying bare some of the processes of crafting luxury furniture through live demonstrations in their on-site atelier.During the three days of Clerkenwell Design Week, Tree Couture founder Troo Heath-Crew and her team of craftsmen will be hand-making her latest design, ‘The Valet’ – a 21st century reinvention of a gentleman’s 19th-century sartorial essential. Traditionally a cabinet designed to hold the clothing and accessories for the day, Tree Couture’s valet takes a historic piece of furniture and reinvents it to meet the needs of the modern day.

1. Kia Utzon-Frank's KUFF cakes that will launching at 155 Bar & Kitchen 2. Seetal Solanki will be hosting a paper workshop in collaboration with fellow exhibitor Kia Utzon-Frank 3. One of the days themes will be marble 4-6. Fiera Edit will be presenting furniture from Novocastrian, the Fold Mirror from Katharina Eisenkoec and Marta Bordes's Satelite lights 7. Side board from Tree Couture