On tuesday i popped into home-london at earls court. In it’s second year, it’s definitely gearing towards becoming the uk’s best trade event for homewares and accessories.
Unlike many exhibitions in the uk, this one reminds me much more of the excellent design exhibitions we have in europe. It certainly was a triumph!
As soon as i left my vespa gear in the cloakroom, i was greeted by what must have been the biggest stand of the show – hemingwaydesign.
House of hemingway consisted of a series of rooms in a replica pop-up bungalow. It is the first time the design house showed all the various elements that make up their extensive interior ranges, which include: wallpaper and tiles, rubber flooring, wall murals, paint furniture, kitchen accessories and rugs. Mid-century modern design is a major source of influence which runs through many of the design aesthetics.
I’ve been following wayne hemingway and his wife and business partner geraldine ever since they started the iconic red or dead fashion label. Have a quick read, if you can, it is an inspiring story. I also follow their urban design projects and generally have always admired their energy and ability to re-invent and rejuvenate. Their business ethics include working with charities, social design and regeneration projects. One of my favourite projects of theirs was kioskiosk, a prototype, affordable, contemporary retail space that was part of the design museum’s super contemporary exhibition in 2009.
Back to the present! Once again, they have their fingers on the pulse and have teamed up with a number of companies to bring us some very cool 21st century living products. An important factor for the hemingways is that most of their work is manufactured in the uk, with a good percentage coming from north east cheshire!
It was a pleasure to briefly meet wayne at the stand (hope lunch was ok:-)
Jack hemingway, part of the business and utterly charming, was very kind to talk me through the various aspects and collaborations with their british licensees.
Collaborating with surface view, i was really impressed with the quality of these wall murals, blinds and canvases. Their print quality was superb and the texture made it almost 3-dimensional, something I often miss in digital printing.
This lady of the orient was by far my favourite image. I was fascinated by the grand scale and the the fact you can customise it to any size (at scale). Immediately i had visions of having this in my bedroom on the back wall.
The wallpaper below is part of the vintage collection in collaboration with graham and brown.
More surface view blind designs and canvases.
Funky tiles….
I particularly liked this playful take on flooring. This is comfortable concrete for milliken.
ShackUp – was established in 2005 by hemingway design to bring multifunctional, joyous thinking to our back yards.
Here you have just a small collection that was on offer. The light made it quite difficult to photograph. I hope you have enjoyed a snippet of the hemingway design story.
London is bathing in sunshine today, albeit rather chilly. Wherever you are, have a great weekend and I’ll see you on monday!