The London Design Festival is showcasing a new wave of emerging British designers, highlighting innovative approaches in art, textiles, and ceramics from early-career creatives. This year’s event features installations and exhibitions across the city, providing a platform for artists to engage both local and international audiences.
Dan Mauz, 35, originally from Rome, now based in Park Royal, presents a conceptual installation as part of his ongoing Icons project. Drawing inspiration from the industrial surroundings of his locale, Mauz repurposes everyday materials such as traffic cones and metal scaffolding tubes to create functional art pieces. His work includes a table and chairs series that maintain the authentic characteristics of the cones, augmented by wooden tops. Mauz expands on this concept within a larger exhibition at 57 Gorst Road, Park Royal.
Coco Lom, 31, an East London native, combines bright colors and bold shapes in her designs, reflecting a mission to reveal joy in unexpected places. With a background in illustration from Norwich University of the Arts and experience working in a Shoreditch photography studio, Lom has collaborated with Floor_Story to produce her first textiles and rugs collection. Her piece, East London Lines, captures the visual narrative of a journey aboard the Overground, drawing from patterns and colors observed throughout London’s train network. The work is on display at Floor_Story's Cairo Studios in London N1.
Textile artist Woo Jin Joo, 30, brings myth and folklore from East Asia into focus in her solo exhibition, Bodily Inbetweenness, at Ruup & Form in London EC1. Having studied at Central St Martins and the Royal College of Art, Joo utilises embroidery as a sculptural medium complemented by ceramics and watercolour. Her pieces, including I Hear Things Existing with Me and White Feet, incorporate viscose embroidery to evoke imagery linked to Chinese zodiac motifs and Korean mythical creatures, exploring themes of transformation and cultural heritage.
Ceramics designer Charly Blackburn, 38, debuts her solo exhibition, Lanthanides: Rare Earth Spectra, at County Hall Pottery, London SE1. Blackburn, who trained in performance design and holds a master’s degree in ceramics from the Royal College of Art, experiments with rare-earth elements called lanthanides in her glazes. The exhibition investigates the luminescent, magnetic, and electric properties of these elements, which are central to modern technologies such as camera lenses and MRI machines.
Together, these designers represent a diverse and experimental cohort contributing to the vitality and international standing of British design, with their work on view throughout the London Design Festival until later this month.