Looking for the up-to-date furniture design fads? Magazines and websites might be the best source of fresh gossip, but when it comes to furniture design, it fails terribly. To find out about the current crazes, visit design festivals: they are still the far best place for people of your interests. In less than a month, Britain's capital will be staging one of the biggest and most famous design festivals worldwide, London Design Festival. Though it can hardly be called traditional (since it was established in 2003), this festival attracts massive attention from design professionals from all around the world. More than 200 events compounding the London Design Festival keep the visitors busy. It’s a real merriment of design creativity and cultural liberty. It's a real shame that there's no time to see all the events. One has to decide cautiously which to visit. Since this isn't an easy task, as a Toronto furniture professional I decided to pick the most important events for you.

Modern furniture

The New Modernists
The biggest British agent for the leading top European furniture producers, Viaduct, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary at LDF. The list of designers involved is big, including Maarten Van Severen, Bertjan Pot, Studio Job, Stefan Diez, Arik Levy and many others. For those into modern furniture, this is undoubtedly one of the best places to learn. I would go as far as saying that it's my personal favourite.

Molteni & C
The partnership between Molteni & C and Foster + Partners has resulted in exceptional quality furniture, specifically the Arc Table. The attention to detail in both design and engeneering makes this a very exciting piece of furniture. Furthermore, to instigate a debate and to celebrate Italian design and designers, Moletny & C have decided to introduce Sofa Chats on 24th September at LDF.

Exclusive furniture

Armani/Casa
As an opposition to the modernists, these traditional Italian furniture professionals offer a selection of luxurious pieces. It’s also an ideal time for the introduction of a new collection of fabrics, created in cooperation with Rubelli. This would be a great exhibition to start with, if exclusive interiors are what you are looking for.

Natuzzi
Designers from the Apennine peninsula are the world leaders in prestigious furniture, as proven by another exhibition of Italian craftsmen, Natuzzi. This year’s choice is leather, but don’t expect leather sofas only. In this their 50th year, Natuzzi will be showcasing a large selection of leather products featuring items from photography to sculpture.

National furniture design trends

Eyes On Spanish Design
The creations of nine designers from Spain will be presented to display current attitudes to future and decorative trends. Contrast of various combinations of (non)traditional materials, simple shapes and manufacturing innovations (with the stress on sustainability) are their main features.

100% Norway
Looking North to Norwegian designers, this exhibition should chill you out with their cool designs and innovative products which have been organised with the help of the Royal Norwegian Embassy and other Norwegian institutions. These designers from the northernmost manufacturers will include newly created concepts as well as many of their most recognizable creations.

Experimental furniture

Grassworks
Jair Straschnow will be presenting a unique range of Grassworks furniture and perhaps you should consider spending some of your time here. This will be a very interesting showcase! Bamboo shoot furniture, constructed using very little screws or glue is simple and easy to assemble at home. Having seen so many other displays of varying degress of shapes and size, relax and enjoy this ultra cool concept in ususual furniture.

Working On Time
The Segal Group will host a display of innovative products from LAMM. The 'on-time' concept is simple. A chair that can be folded and stored, using a minimum of space and also providing a comfortable sitting experience when it needs to be used (unline the others that we had to use at University). The concept of a table that can be folded and stored away is a very attractive option for the 'stay-at-home' worker.

Installations

White Light
If the lighting in a staged property is not complimentary to the interior design of the staging professional, then the whole concept could be lost. White Light installation combines lighting, furniture and film. Slamp, AVMazzega, Varaschin and Fratelli Boffi teamed-up to showcase the best.

Colour Creativity and Verner Panton
Peter Lassen produced a system called 'Montana' which is probably the best storage system in the world and has thousands of combinations. With the help of Verner Panton’s lighting, he is going to present the juicy color palette of his system. More details and all other events can be found on the official site of the London Design Festival.