The May Design Series returns to London this year for its third edition with the theme ‘Curated for Business’ and will present international exhibitors as well as showcasing the best of new British design. A new feature this year will be a complimentary CPD-accredited seminar and conference programme. This will explore and debate the future impact of such issues as changing demographics, latest technologies and advanced materials with a focus on attracting and keeping customers and clients across all sectors of design. Promising to be the biggest yet, the show will span three days from May 17 at ExCeL London, offering an array of interior products across five sectors: Furniture; Kitchens, Bedrooms & Bathrooms; Lighting; Decor and DX, a pavilion showcasing products which are using new materials and technology.
The expo is busy with other highlights as well. These include a selection of products showcasing the very newest talent on the design scene curated by the editor of Fiera Magazine, Katie Treggiden, who has trawled the design fairs of Stockholm, Frankfurt and Copenhagen in her quest. In an exciting new partnership with Bucks New University, there will be a collection of students’ work that has been influenced, inspired by or designed in collaboration with the industry. While Birmingham City University has again teamed up with Global Color Research and digital wall covering brand, Tektura, to bring innovative students from the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design to the show and explore 2015/16 trend predictions from Mix Publications.
Organised by the creators of Decorex and KBB Birmingham, May Design Series is perfectly positioned at the finale of the European show cycle to present shop-ready collections. The 2015 exhibition will include companies from over 25 countries, meaning that May Design Series is truly unique in offering a floorplan that is evenly allocated between British and overseas exhibitors.
From the UK to Spain, Italy to Portugal … here’s a taste of what there will be to discover this year. The full exhibitor list is now available at: www.maydesignseries.com.
Furniture
Egoitaliano is a company that hails from Matera, the heart of the ‘sofa district’, in the south of Italy. They will be bringing sofas and chairs that are 100% Italian-made, showcasing the best of the country’s style and creativity. Their range covers 50 different models in various combinations, including sofabeds, sectionals and recliners, in five different kinds of leather, four kinds of fabric and a microfiber.
Originating also from Matera, Calia Italia is a leading Italian upholstery company producing more than fifty different sofa models per year in a range of leather and fabric. The company distributes its commercial offer to a continuously growing international market, and boasts a state-of-the-art logistics system and, with the capacity of over 20,000 seats, the largest finished product automatic warehouse in Europe.
Launched in January 2015, Alma de Luce is a Portuguese brand that reveals memories of traditions, places, myths, legends, symbols and people of the world through unique handcrafted pieces made with Swarovski crystals. Each piece is one-of-a-kind aiming to tell and preserve the unique heritage of stories through their design and craftmanship.
Swaffer is a firmly established fine furnishing fabric brand based in the UK, set to be featured in the Furniture sector’s Fabric and Wallcoverings Pavilion. Offering a stunning range of designs encompassing prints, weaves, embroideries, sheers and innovative velvets, their product range is suitable for curtains, bedspreads, upholstery and loose covers in both domestic and contract applications. With a beautiful, plush texture and subtle woven pattern, the Fitz collection adds a touch of opulence to both modern and classical schemes – available in 24 colour ways encompassing both stunning brights and glamorous neutrals. The Duo plain weave is notable for two distinctive features: its availability in both double and single widths; and its two usable faces – one with a soft brushed finish and the other with a smart woven texture. The Austen weaves collection uses three distinctive dobby patterns: Bingley, Darcy and Lucas in 30 colourways – these versatile weaves are washable and suitable for use as upholstery, curtains and accessories.
Exclusively distributed by Swaffer, world renowned Alhambra International from Alicante, Spain, boast a range of original and stylish textile designs suitable for both residential and commercial interior projects in six new collections.‘Allure’ is a classical collection that brings the traditional damask technique from the 12th century to the present through modern and contemporary designs. Romantically inspired florals in the Country Garden collection will bring brightness to any home, creating an oasis of calm and beauty. Finally, Stone Age, a superb stone washed cotton collection and Lineage, a stunning linen collection, are both available in an exhaustive range of contemporary colours to suit any space and taste.
Treniq hosts pieces that are trendy and unique including the finest handcrafted furniture and home accessories from luxury brands and designers. The Treniq team states: “We know our customers! This is why we handpick products to provide our customers with innovative concepts and designs. With a passionate focus on exquisite craftsmanship, we offer the finest products without compromising on functionality for interior designers, architects and consumers around the world’.
Graham Ikin, whose creations are available via Treniq, is a contemporary furniture designer and maker who has been a well-kept secret in the heart of England. With a natural understanding of wood and design in his genes, Graham effortlessly utilises the finest materials to create contemporary designs using traditional techniques. While Graham has been working with interior designers and clients to produce commissioned bespoke work, he has also exhibited at many prestigious shows and on galleries around England.
Dall’Agnese boasts an important history in the furniture sector. Since 1948, the factory has been playing an active role on the market by introducing high-quality new products in line with the design trends of the time. The business approach has remained unchanged over the years: taking part in every single step of the manufacturing process, from sourcing raw materials to completing the finished product. Dall’Agnese maunfactures a wide and full range of furnishings for both living and sleeping areas, including a rich choice of occasional furniture and accessories.
Sma Mobili is a manufacturing and sales company that has been in the international market for over 50 years with “creativity” as its distinguishing feature. The company focuses on offering a complete night and day collection of contemporary furniture. The beneficial geographical location of SMA, situated in the main industrial area of north-east Italy, allows the company to easily tap into the best sources of raw materials and technological innovations the sector offers, in order to achieve an excellent quality/price ratio. The entire production cycle takes place in-house and has achieved UNI ENISO 9001/2008.
Lighting
Clifton Lighting is the exclusive distributor for a number of high quality Italian lighting companies. Harnessing a vast working knowledge of the European market, they are continually sourcing new companies, ensuring their growth year-by-year. They aim to bring carefully picked, unique and high quality products
to the UK, with an emphasis on European design.
Habitech iD provides architects and interior designers with ways to make technology disappear within rooms. It offers a range of products, which allow touchscreens, keypads, switches, sockets and speakers to share a consistent aesthetic with ceilings and walls for a flush-fitted result.
Chad Lighting, distributed by Swaffer, designs and manufactures contemporary luminaries for use in leisure, corporate and domestic environments. Employing a wide range of high quality materials, the company creates products that are distinguished by their clean lines and elegant proportions. Ranges include table, floor and wall lights in addition to reading and task lights. They have previously worked with large hotel groups, privately owned boutique hotels, luxury boats, restaurants and private clients. Chad also produces bespoke items for specific projects and works with local craftsmen and component suppliers to maintain a high quality and dependability of supply. With its simple design and craft aesthetic, the ‘Kaminos’ table light is a new addition to the Chad ceramic range. Choose from different incision designs on the light’s base, and from three standard finishes: natural, sand and dark pewter. Other finishes are available on request.
Decor
Rug Maker is celebrating 150 years of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Granted an exclusive license to reproduce John Tenniel’s artwork from the British Library’s original collections, they present two distinctive designs: ‘The White Rabbit’, and ‘Alice Drink Me’. The monochrome designs are hand-woven in Kathmandu Valley in Nepal by highly-skilled Tibetan and Nepalese weavers, hand-knotting Swiss aniline dyed New Zealand wool onto cotton warps and wefts. Rug Maker supports ‘GoodWeave’ – the global non-profit organisation that ensures child labour is not used in the manufacturing process.
Morris Mirrors is a well-established company based in London and working with interior designers, developers, specifiers, hoteliers and architects across in the UK. The company’s experienced and highly skilled workforce combines traditional hand making methods with the most sophisticated machinery, enabling Morris Mirrors to create the finest British made contemporary designs.
KBB
Hailing from Pescara on the east coast of Italy, Aran Kitchen’s products will adorn May Design Series’ dedicated KBB sector. Presenting their beautiful kitchen and bedroom ranges, the company will offer a wide spectrum of options to satisfy a diverse range of needs, no matter what the budget. Aran have worked with a number of high profile designers such as Karim Rashid, and recent projects include the kitchen of Tommy Hilfiger’s Miami home, as well as kitchens and bedrooms for the tallest residential building in the western hemisphere, 432 Park Avenue, New York City.
Regularly launching kitchen designs, concepts and finishes, leading German manufacturer Leicht promises not to disappoint. Their new ‘Concrete’ finish, with varying light refraction and a matt-lacquer sealing, brings to kitchens a stylish, industrial look. They will also display the new ‘Synthia’ in Havana Oak and ‘Classic FS’ in white, to show the versatility and range of textures and colours on offer. Other key concepts such as pocket doors, which cleverly hide cupboards, cookware centres and the ‘Avance’ and Contino griprail handleless doors will also be showcased. Leicht offers style, versatility and a myriad of colours at competitive prices, and has recently opened a dedicated showroom in London’s Battersea.
Ponte Giulio, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of elegant solutions for a safer, accessible and stylish bathroom, will be showcasing Winglts – the world’s strongest wall fixture. WingIts meet and exceed ADA guidelines, and the grab bar fastening takes less than 15 minutes to install, with no special tools required. The Midioplan bathroom range will also be on display, including stylish and colourful basins and shower trays and hands-free taps with motion sensors to regulate water temperature. The Italian company’s products are suitable for all bathrooms in the home, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and other commercial and residential buildings. They also boast a range of aesthetically pleasing accessible bathroom products.
Inspired by America’s New York loft culture, COMPAC’s New York Collection fuses together architecture, design and functionality offering clients the opportunity to create a contemporary kitchen that reflect the style of loft living in the Big Apple . The collection features a totally new quartz work surface which is silky, soft and sensuous to the touch.
Doca UK is a high end, well-established kitchen and wardrobe manufacturer from near Barcelona in Spain. Celebrating its 35th birthday in 2015, the company is 100% dedicated to bringing cutting edge design and inspired product development to the luxury design sector. With a passion for innovation, craftsmanship and appreciation for quality materials, their products push the boundaries of kitchen design world-wide. The luxury Stone Island Unit with matching Worktop in Artemis 985 has a striking marble effect ceramic stone finish, focusing on practical living kitchen design. Measuring only 5mm in depth and aluminium-backed to ensure a truly lightweight finish, the Series Stone shows it can effectively clad stone to both large and small appliances, create stylish doors and drawers or create matching worktops or splashbacks with high performance and design. This is a great alternative to the more common granite and quartz as it is 100% stain proof, completely non-porous and impervious to direct flame and heat.
This year, Logicom has launched the latest generation of Virtual Worlds Professional (5.9), delivering higher quality photo-realistic renders, 25% faster than ever before. The significant advances have been introduced to save designers and retailers time, and further improve customers’ quote to order conversions. A new facility that uses ‘layers’ has also been introduced to the latest Virtual Worlds, impacting the 2D and 3D plan formats. When presenting options to a client, designers can now rapidly flick between alternative 3D layouts, highlighting style, colour and budget options. This is available free of charge to current users, and Virtual Worlds supports its CAD software with a training programme, and technical hotline.
THG Paris is a French manufacturer of luxurious bathroom fittings and accessories, responsible for equipping gorgeous hotels, palaces and private residences all over the world. They are presenting their new ‘Beyond Crystal’ collection produced in collaboration with elite designer, Rémi Tessier. This contemporary collection is defined by its modern style – featuring crystal lattices available in four colours, along with pure shapes produced by renowned crystal manufacturer Baccarat. THG has been awarded the prestigious French ‘EPV’ quality label (a ‘living heritage company’) by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry. The company also joins only few hundred others that have been recognised for their rare savoir-faire as a symbol of French excellence.
Artinox brings to London their handcrafted stainless steel kitchen sinks and workshops all the way from the Veneto region in north-east Italy. Each sink is manufactured from the best quality AISI 204 18/10 stainless steel – strong, durable, water proof,
shock and corrosion resistant, and hygienic – and they guarantee constant thickness and easy-to-clean design edges. The company also offers handcrafted, tailor-made and environmentally responsible solutions, with their constant innovation, up-to-date machinery and best practice in energy saving.
British Ceramic Tile Limited is a leading UK tile manufacturer and distributor, supplying to national and international retailers, house builders and specifiers. Their new ‘Parian’ range of porcelain wall and floor tiles embraces the rich tones of Marsala – dubbed this year’s hot colour by Pantone – fusing together a myriad of muted shades into one stunning vintage-inspired patchwork tile. A distinctive brick tile, ‘Artisan’ is a ceramic wall tile collection full of character. With a traditional handmade feel, each tile features a rustic glazed surface and muted colour palette. The collection now includes four new harmonious colours: Creamware, Amethyst, Duck Egg and Willow, in a new elongated 750mmx300mm size, allowing homeowners to mix and match and add a real design statement to any wall or room.