Liverpool Design show
How will it go down?
Liverpool was described by Carl Jung as ‘the centre of the creative universe!’ - and why not? The quickest and most shallow bout of research into its rich history and achievement of its citizens would surely convince even the biggest of sceptics. Liverpool’s amazingly diverse cultural roots, going back centuries, ensure creativity in every sense of the word, lending Scousers a passion and pride that is worn on a very big sleeve and gives the city a sense of place much more Celtic than Anglo-Saxon. Never afraid to speak up and always looking to make a difference in the world, tell a Liverpudlian that he can’t and he will anyway. Scousers have long been celebrated as creative instigators and engaging characters with warmth and sensitivity, the list of famous names and achievements in all fields will surprise anyone who takes the time to have a look. This appears to be true of all fields apart from contemporary design, it would seem. So why are there so few well-known designers living and working here? Or are there?
This city has a rich array of highly innovative and visible design in it’s historic and internationally important architecture; it’s musical heritage is beyond doubt and continues to go on achieving; the art scene is as vibrant and important as ever with this years John Moores contemporary art competition about to begin and to run alongside the also globally important Liverpool Biennial. The Capital of Culture programme in 2008 brought a total additional income exceeding £130 million into the city and continues to be a catalyst for all things creative. Both business and communities take great pride in pulling together for the greater good of the people and a multitude of brand new social enterprises, commercial initiatives and other opportunities have emerged, encouraging new indigenous talent to step up and make its mark. One organisation however, has long been a rich resource to both the designers of the city and the wider North West region. Since 1992, and long before the wider public recognised the wealth of contemporary design available in the area, the Liverpool and Manchester Design Initiative has been encouraging creativity and instilling confidence in creative businesses hungry to make a difference with their design ideas and services. Making exceptional use of the opportunities that 2008 offered, the Design Initiative co-produced the inaugural Design Show Liverpool, a highly successful event that has, year on year, grown into a popular festival.
Taking place over 5 days in June 2008, Design Show Liverpool was a varied and lively showcase of fashion, accessories, interior products, furniture, jewellery and lighting. There were catwalk presentations, a designer led children’s workshop area, a ‘live’ glass design challenge and a craft industry conference. The event appealed to family audiences, serious design savvy consumers and industry contacts. It attracted an audience of 7000 visitors and had an impact on the local economy worth £0.5 million.
Its success has enabled Design Initiative to expand it into the ten-day Liverpool Design Festival. Now in its second year, the Festival celebrates and promotes quality design and encourages appreciation from the widest possible audience. Design Initiative is keen to mirror the success of Liverpool’s well-heeled art programmes by engaging the public with design ideas that they would find inspiring and intriguing, that would raise awareness at a local and national level about the high quality products being created and the processes that were being used by designers.
The Festival achieves this through a rich selection of citywide events ranging from design trails and school competitions to interactive seminars and talks, all taking place alongside a major design showcase and selling event. Last year it encouraged an audience of 8,500 to appreciate and participate in design led activities that generated a significant visitor spend within the local economy.
The range of opportunities available to emerging designers in the city can be exemplified in my own development over the past 3 years. Exhibiting my own REthinkthings product range at 2008’s Design Show Liverpool for the first time was one of three immediate opportunities that gave me a ‘leg up’ with my career. It was at this show that I was asked to apply for the BBC Starck “Design for Life” programme, which I later went on to win. There were a great many gifted and inspiring designers from the North West exhibiting alongside me, many of them remaining undiscovered until then.
Design Initiative proactively introduces as many of these designers as possible to talent seekers and buyers alike where young designers, industry and consumers can benefit from a city-centre Festival full of fresh and innovative design ideas that will emerge this year. The Design Show is now a signature event at the heart of the Festival and this November aims to showcase the best in contemporary design from Liverpool and the North West with other talent from the rest of the UK placing Liverpool firmly on the wider design map and complementing festivals in London, Cardiff, Bristol and the Design Event North East.
This year is set to be more exciting than ever and Design Show will present a selection of over 80 stimulating and original interior products, glass, ceramics, furniture, lighting, jewellery, textiles and fashion. It is a unique experience for everybody to be a part of and well worth a visit. The Festival will also include a programme of design seminars and talks, fringe events involving designers, makers and photographers, professional development workshops for fashions designers and a schools competition. In my perhaps slightly biased opinion it is far from true that the best designers are trained and working in London, this region bore and educated some of the country’s most celebrated design names such as Dick Powell, Ross Lovegrove and Wayne Hemmingway. The quality of work and debate highlighted within the Liverpool Design Festival is indicative of the region’s ability to nuture further design stars of the future. So, maybe it is not that the city’s design talent fails to match its other creative industries, it is more true that the original, vibrant, alive and surprising Liverpool design scene simply remains unexplored by those who could enjoy it the most, just like the city itself...
The Liverpool Design Festival will run from the 18th November to 27th November 2010. The Design Show at St Georges Hall is open to the public on the 20th and 21st November 2010
Tickets for the event cost £5 on the door and discounted advance tickets cost £4 on the festival website www.liverpooldesignfestival.com
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