2 minute read
DESIGNS FOR LIFE The London
DESIGNS FOR LIFE
THIS YEAR’S LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL PROMISES TO BE ITS MOST SUSTAINABLE, AS CRAFTSMEN LEAD THE WAY
Sustainability is at the heart of this year’s London Design Festival. Celebrating its 20th edition, the festival seeks to place London at the heart of the design world. Bringing together designers from across the globe and supported by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, this month’s event is a platform for design stories to be told.
Bill Amberg Studio, the Notting Hill-based industry leader in bespoke leathercraft, has collaborated with Knepp Estate in Sussex, UK, renowned for its rewilding project, to design and manufacture a sustainable furniture collection for its new café and farm shop opening next spring. Bill Amberg Studio (billamberg.com) has created a range of furniture using materials entirely sourced from the estate – leather from longhorn cattle and deer free-roaming the rewilding project. The leather is tanned in the UK and the wood comes from ash trees from dieback clearance.
“We’ve been investigating the use of leather structurally for some time, and this collection of furniture maximises the material’s use and pushes the boundaries of what is possible with leather,” says Bill Amberg. “Each piece allows the natural beauty of the materials to shine and represents unparalleled credentials of sustainability, quality, design and craftsmanship. The exceptional welfare of the animals is evident in the quality of skins. We’re delighted to be collaborating with Knepp, whose impressive rewilding project puts nature fi rst and focuses on the importance of natural habitats and the materials found within.” The collection will be offi cially launched during the festival, and will be available to buy.
Luxury carpet manufacturer Tai Ping is another brand to take sustainability seriously and works hard to ensure that its artisan workshop is a zero-pollutant discharge facility. It has taken measures to create a responsible and ethical manufacturing HQ in Hong Kong. For coloured rugs, for instance, all colourants used in dyeing comply with Ecological and Toxicological Association of Dyes (ETAD) recommendations and follow a continuous programme for waste reduction. Its new prêt-à-porter label, Studio by Tai Ping (taipingshop-uk.com) will launch during the festival, and you can visit its London showroom on Pelham Street, South Kensington.
