The 100% Design Show is currently on at Earl's Court once again and as ever, it aims to showcase all that is new in design from around the world. It includes bathrooms, fabrics, lighting, accessories, furniture, materials, flooring, kitchens and much, much more.
Part of my job is to attend (rather than exhibit luckily) various shows both in the UK and occasionally in Europe and on the whole they could best be described as tedious. It nearly always involves traipsing up and down endless aisles hoping to find something new and interesting whilst ensuring you catch up with your existing contacts and suppliers.
To my mind, trade shows are generally, as Samuel Johnson once put it, "a triumph of hope over experience".
To be fair though, 100% Design has generally bucked the trend and managed to stay fresh and interesting when all others around it have flagged.
It started off as a slightly alternative show, with relatively small companies demonstrating their wares. Year by year, it grew quickly and took in much grander architectural elements and extra halls at Earls Court. Presumably though, they have felt the effect of the economic slowdown and 100% Design is now about the same size as when it began, a really nice size to get around in a morning.
Fortunately, 100% Design still manages to showcase the work of small companies and students too, which is a credit to the organisers. This is unlike another show which I used to actually look forward to, Ecobuild.
Ecobuild also started off as a relatively small show demonstrating alternative building methods and environmental building products. However, it is now a massive show, totally swamped by the big corporations who have seen that there is "gold in them there hills" and will try to do anything to look "green and eco".
Until next time...
