Clerkenwell Design Week 2017: The Best Bits
26th May 2017
Clerkenwell Design Week is one of my favourite weeks of the year. It’s extra special for me because it marks the two year anniversary of my big move to London and starting my job here at deVOL. I remember my first week, the sun was shining, as it somehow always is for CDW, and the streets were filled with cool design folk navigating their way through the maze of pink signs and quirky installations. It was all a bit of an exciting blur the first year, but it was the best introduction to this wonderfully vibrant city I now call home.
As it was my third year, I thought I was a bit of an old timer and I really knew what was what. But again I felt myself get swept up in the fuchsia pink whirl. We were an official showroom this year as well as having our usual spot in the British Collection. It was amazing, but also a completely new experience and challenge. We had the best spot in town, right in the middle of all the action at St. John’s Square, you could see people walking past the showroom peering in the window and then backtracking because they couldn’t resist coming in to explore. We had people who had no idea who we were or what we did, and others who had followed the whole transformation of the townhouse on Instagram or had come to the festival only to see us!
Some people popped in and grabbed a brochure and others spent a least an hour wandering around the whole house taking everything in. It was one of those places that became an experience, Helen’s amazing styling, the smell of the incense and the inherent charm of the old building, you were transported back in time but at the same time it all felt so cool and current. At least one person every 30 minutes asked me if they could move in!
You end the three days with slightly sore feet and feeling like you could sleep for a whole day (thank god for the bank holiday!) but also filled with so much inspiration, excitement and admiration for all of the incredibly talented people who took part in the show. You try to comb through your memories for your best bits, struggle to remember all the designers’ names or exactly where that super cool installation was… it all becomes part of the fuchsia pink whirl.
Luckily this year we had our amazing photographer Tim come and join us! So whether you want to relive it or if you couldn’t make it and want to see what it’s all about, check out Tim’s video to see all the best bits of this year’s design extravaganza…
