d78 EVENT PREVIEW / CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK 2019
The origins of the event came about through a conversation between Daren Newton of publishing company Media 10 and Henry Pugh, founding publisher of Mix Interiors. The pair had discussed how previous attempts to create an event for the area over the years had failed to fully meet the needs of exhibitors or visitors. These events tended to place on Saturdays despite the primary focus for most of the showrooms being on Monday-Friday professional trade.
Between them, Newton and Pugh came up with the concept for Clerkenwell Design Week. Initially, the event was somewhat constricted by the number of potential exhibitors in the area. Newton said: “There were about 30 showrooms there at that time, and that’s showrooms of all kinds, so it was a fairly limited pool.”
SENSE OF OWNERSHIP
Newton and Pugh visited many of the brands to talk about their idea for a new exhibition – surprising many of them given that the pair were commercial competitors: “We got appointments easily because I think they found the idea of us both wanting a meeting together quite entertaining! But they were so surprised that we were entering into this partnership together and that we both believed in the project so much that they pretty much all signed up to it.”
MAR 2015
MAY 2019
designer kitchen & bathroom
designerkbmag.co.uk
OVER THE YEARS, THE EVENT HAS HELPED TO FUEL CLERKENWELL'S DEVELOPMENT BY ACTING AS A REAL SHOWCASE FOR WHAT THE AREA HAS TO OFFER
Even so, many of the brands that signed up from the start still had their doubts that the event could be made to work. Perhaps disappointed with previous experiences of shows that did not quite hit the mark, they nevertheless understood that something needed to be done to help the Clerkenwell district fulfil its burgeoning potential, and so Clerkenwell Design Week was launched by Media 10 in 2010.
“Once we got them on board, we then went to visit the architectural practices, because that had previously been the missing link,” Newton recalls. “We told them: ‘We are going to a create an event that is your event. We’re not just asking you to come along, we’re saying it is yours. Bring your clients to your festival, celebrating where you are, and celebrating your practice.’” “We explained that if they brought
their clients along, we would feed and water them, and deliver content for them. So, for example, if they had a client that didn’t understand colour trends, they could invite them to one of three talks we had on the topic. Bring them along, they will enjoy it and we can educate them.”
He says this was the turning point because, crucially, the architectural practices were now on board. It was not merely an open day for showrooms, but rather something with which architects could add value to their business to the benefit of their clients. It was celebrating Clerkenwell as a historical area, a district full of some of the most important design brands, and as a cultural and architectural hub of London. So, a decade on, what has been the key to the success of the event? “It
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