For the first time, the London Design Festival is playing shopkeeper with the introduction of a design store to further engage with visitors to the event’s main hub. Created in partnership with the V&A, the stand-alone display is located in the Grand Entrance of the museum and sells a curated selection of design-related products alongside some Festival merchandise.
The shop’s display system is purpose-built and has been designed by Loris&Livia, the London-based, Swiss-born design duo, who have maximised the material to bring a distinctive form to the display. The design features two intriguingly shaped, multi-level units with integrated lighting: a display unit seamlessly wrapped in Corian® in a chic pastel shade, and a cashier’s desk in Deep Titanium, one of the new dark grey colours of Corian® made with DeepColour™ Technology*.
Loris says "Our ambition was to design a sculptural display made in DuPont™ Corian® without compromising on functionality and mobility. Inspired by Art Deco and Constructivism we worked on a composition of functional volumes to form a self-contained landscape where the products for sale can be arranged freely. Shoppers are invited to walk around the display and discover the collection gradually.
We chose DuPont™ Corian® in Mint Ice for the main display unit; this distinctive colour is soft and luminous at the same time and the material conveys something ethereal and tactile that is very unique. The clean lines contrast nicely with the museum’s elaborate architecture. Both the pastel hue and the new deep, dark grey also provide an interesting background for the iconic poppy red that signifies the London Design Festival."
The pieces for sale have been selected from a pool of London-based designers and brands, some of which have been customised especially for the shop. On offer are desirable items from cards, notebooks, prints and t-shirts to ceramics, glassware (including Loris&Livia’s Tipsy glasses) and even luxury chocolate.
Max Fraser, consultant to the London Design Festival and commissioner of the shop, says: "It has been a great pleasure to extend our relationship with DuPont Corian®. We’re delighted to have commissioned the talent of design studio Loris&Livia to explore and push this special material to create a shop at the V&A with its own distinctive look and functionality."
LED Light Sheet kindly supplied by Applelec (www.applelec.co.uk)
About LORIS&LIVIA: Swiss designers Loris Jaccard and Livia Lauber met in London whilst working respectively at BarberOsgerby and Established & Sons. Loris studied product design and contemporary jewellery at HEAA in La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH). Livia studied product and industrial design at ECAL in Lausanne (CH). LORIS&LIVIA set up a partnership in 2011 to create uncommon objects and unexpected spaces that inspire simple human interactions. Based in East London, the studio brings together a range of complementary abilities to develop its own designs as well as creative projects for international clients or private commissions.
(www.lorisetlivia.com)(www.facebook.com/Lorisetlivia /) (www.instagram.com/lorisandlivia)
About DuPont™ Corian® (www.corian.co.uk) – First created as a high performance material for kitchen and bathroom worktops, DuPont™ Corian® is now – thanks to its unique combination of functionality, versatility and beauty – a leading global brand in surfacing materials for interior design and architecture. Over the years, DuPont has established DuPont™ Corian® solid surface as an exceptional design tool for every application one can imagine. Kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, furnishing, facades, radiators, home automation, touch control surfaces: today, DuPont™ Corian® can be found almost everywhere in Commercial, Residential and Public Space applications.
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DuPont (www.dupont.com) – DuPont has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment.