Taking place at ExCeL London, new show concept the May Design Series delivered a new sourcing platform for London designers, architects and specifiers, giving visitors the opportunity to make informed purchasing decisions at the end of the European show season.
According to organiser UBM, the show attracted over 10,000 industry professionals including visitors from B&Q, Conran and Partners, C.P. Hart, Foster + Patners, John Lewis, Tesco and Zaha Hadid Architects.
Pulled in by big brands and up-and-coming companies, visitors were able to see the likes of Timorous Beasties, Justin Van Breda, Ligne Roset, D*Haus, Poggenpohl, Leicht, ERCO and iGuzinni.
"This is a great platform to keep achieving greater things and really put London interiors back on the global map where it belongs.”
UBM brand director Andy Vaughan says: “The first May Design Series has now traded and it has exceeded our Year 1 expectations hugely. The vision was to achieve London’s first great-looking but also commercial design trade show, and on the whole this has gone very much to plan. It has been very rewarding to have received so many compliments from exhibitors, visitors, designers and key industry press and associations on how great the show looked and how our new layout and attention to detail made the whole experience enjoyable and functional.
"Equally as important and gratifying was the report on how much business was achieved. Our immediate feedback has indicated the majority of exhibitors have surpassed their business targets and, really encouragingly, many actually signed substantial business deals actually at the show, which is a huge success for us all. This is a great platform to keep achieving greater things and really put London interiors back on the global map where it belongs.”
The late night opening on Monday brought visitors and exhibitors together in the DX bar (pictured). The renowned international designer Karim Rashid brought a touch of glamour to the event, taking to the decks to entertain the crowds into the night.
In addition to the exhibitors' stands, visitors were able to take advantage of the exhibition’s feature areas. The show provided insightful and thought-provoking CPD-accredited seminars, including a keynote session from prolific designer, Karim Rashid, with queues formed in anticipation and crowds spilling into the aisles. Seminars were streamed live online and watched by thousands around the globe.
There was something for everyone across various sectors of the design industry: lighting gurus Paul Nulty and Peter Earle discussed the ingredients necessary for well-balanced ambient lighting design; Hugh Broughton, Christina Seilern and Tomas Rousek wowed the audience with their groundbreaking work in the polar regions, equatorial Africa and space, respectively; a panel of experts from companies including Gensler, Herman Miller, AHMM and MAKE Architects contemplated the changing face of workplace design; and Martyn Evans of Cathedral set out to answer the question that resonates with all architects: What do developers want?
Providing a worldwide platform, the Global Design Blogger meet-up had bloggers at the May Design Series sharing their findings with bloggers simultaneously attending the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York City. Organised by the May Design Series and online interior design resource Modenus.com, the prominent blogger Bright Bazaar shared his trend insights at the show from Poggenpohl’s stand.
