The kick off of our course was a deep down dive into the 100% Design show, a huge exhibition that takes place in Earl’s Court and shows all the great designs, national and international, that are innovative and stand out from the rest. When we enter in Earl’s Court 2, we are invited to go though a colorful installation inside a dark corridor—a collaboration between Thomas Matthews and Studio Design UK—, that keeps changing colors and gives us a hint of what to expect on the other side. At the end of the tunnel, we are greeted by another installation,— this one made by Preciosa and Studio Design UK— full of light and brightness, showing us the bar, one of the meeting points to rest and eat and also showing us the merging point of the 4 spaces: Office, Interiors, Kitchen & Bathrooms and Eco, Design & Build. All of the spaces present stands with the best products they have, with great designs, new materials, attractive and innovative, the breakthrough we all need in the design and in the world, a proof that the number of visitors grows every day and every year. All of the 4 spaces were carefully studied and planned to embrace all of the stands, the exhibitors and the visitors, blending all in one space full of color, activity and great projects, capable to catch everybody’s eye for all of their attributes. But, because to have a neutral space is also good to break with all the whirl of people, noise and visual approaches, were also planned, studied and built some spaces where you can just sit and enjoy the talks and presentations that were programmed to have there. One of those neutral spaces is the Paper Space, —a collaboration between Studio Glowacka and Maria Fulford Architects— only made with paper, of course, but with organic shapes and in spite of the neutral aspect, it blends in the environment. In general, everything in this year’s show follows the main purpose and theme Creative Balance. The directors brief the exhibitors and they need to create something that follows the briefing, but always with something that stands out of the rest for its innovation whether in the design, or in the use of new materials or techniques. And what is important too is that everything, or almost everything is a product of collaborations and partnerships, showing one of the sides of the Creative Balance. The other side of this topic is the balance between the creativity, the commercial and the critical success, not only producing something that is innovative and beautiful enough to go to MoMA, but also something that can be purchased by someone to have at home and fulfill the purposes of its creation and use. For Giulio Capellini this topic is like his work motto, to produce great furniture and great art objects that can be exhibited in a museum, but also can fill people’s homes and be used for them, whether is a chair or a table. Giulio Capellini, (1954-) graduated in Architecture in Italy, but was when he was running his family business that he started to be a talent scout of young designers from different countries and encouraging and supporting the stimulation the creativity and the production of great pieces of furniture. And so with his words in my mind, I continued to see the exhibition and understanding, stand by stand and space by space the meaning of Creative Balance, and the questions, debates and agreements or disagreements that some topics can emerge from all of us. I must say that I really enjoyed this experience, not only because we could contact with great minds, whether designers, exhibitors, or directors (like William Knight), but also because we could see the greatness of the British Design and the International Design, for example, Korean Design, that shows their great products for the first time. From the previous editions, and even from the feedback from the exhibitors and the huge amount of visitors only in one day, we can say that this exhibition is getting bigger and better— thanks to the new managers/owners Media 10— who really show passion for what they are doing and think and work until the smallest detail to have everything perfect. Is also the changing of partners and sponsors, of exhibitors, theme and organizations involved that makes this show dynamic and challenging, not just for the ones that are organizing it, but also for all the time and the exhibitors that make part of all the show. One example, and one of my favorite stands is The Farm Kitchen, an hub in the Kitchens & Bathrooms section, that inspires revolutions the concept of micro-agriculture. I had the opportunity to speak with one of the mentors of this project, Caroline Santos from Mette, who explained me that the briefing was gave by the organization of 100% Design, but the final product is totally her idea and conception, always with the briefing in mind, but also with the idea on how could she contribute with something different but useful to the others, once again in partnership with another great name in the kitchen world, Gaggenau. The idea was to create a micro-agriculture in each person/family’s house, in order to create people self-sustainable and capable control what they eat. Is the basic speak of “growing on your own” but taking to another level, a design and technology level, using a variety of light sources, irrigating methods and different technologies to facilitate regular production, whether in a small or big family environment. The idea is to make the micro-agriculture blend with the indoors environment, to blend with the house and the people that live in, enriching every single person and creating a rewarding and fulfilling feeling of growing your own sustenance and knowledge about the agriculture, nutritional values of the food and its contribute to the well-being and health of each individual.
And last but not the least, I felt amazed and proud of my country (Portugal), not only because it has at least 4 stands in the show with amazing and innovative products, but also because— in spite of of the unfortunate situation that hit the country, — some of the brands thrive and show to the world what we have the best, not only the products and the companies but also the designers and the creativity and effort they put in their projects. However, according to one of the exhibitors that I spoke to, Ana Gomes from Boca do Lobo, 98% of what they sell is to another countries, which means that Portugal doesn’t seem to be ready yet to accept such innovation in the concept and philosophy that shapes the contemporaneity. But everything looks so related to our tradition, that I still wonder why the other countries like our tradition and we seem to note appreciate that much… an open question for a future essay, maybe.
Also, Delightfull (a brand that is owned by the same company) shows the most innovative and creative products in light design and, once more exceeds all the expectations in this show and in the Portuguese design, showing that out country can thrive outside no matter what. I only met this brand when I step into it in the show and I just became its fan! The design, the colors, the shapes, everything made until the very last detail, showing great distinction but made with unconventional materials like musical instruments makes it more than suitable for this show. I repeat myself I am proud to know that these two brands are Portuguese and to know that they are recognized outside internationally. As long as you have passion you can do everything, and I see these two examples as proof of passion and a victory not only for the company but also for the Portuguese designers and all those who want to thrive inside and outside their country. If you didn’t have the chance to visit the 100% Design this year, I strongly recommend to visit in 2014 because, if it tends to grow and get better year by year, in 2014 is going to exceed all the expectations from everything seen this year.
