TRANS-FORM by Mint

London Design Festival celebrates and promotes London as the design capital of the world. The Festival returns to venues and institutions across the city from 15 - 23 September 2018.

London-based interior design shop Mint celebrates its 20th anniversary during this year, coinciding with the London Design Festival. To celebrate, Lina Kanafani has curated an innovative show, presenting a collection of material-forward focused designers. TRANS-FORM will feature work by a mix of established and newly graduated designers from all corners of the globe - over sixty individuals in total. As part of the Brompton Design District, the theme this year is Material Consequences, thus the focus of the exhibition is the way in which we work with and interact with material objects. 

One of the many fascinating creations featured in TRANS-FORM is by Italian designer and inventor, Marco Guazzini. He has invented something he calls Marwoolus - a sustainable material made from marble powder and natural wool. Both of these materials are waste products; marble powder is a byproduct of marble cutting and the wool comes from offcuts. Mixing the two together creates a hard and tough material like marble but with the tactile properties of wool. The wool filaments even give the impression of marble's variegated veins. 

Also testing the limits of materials is UK designer Sophie Graney, who specialises in textiles. Using hand-focused techniques, such as Swedish lace-making and hand-weaving, shows off Graney's natural talent for craftsmanship, while her employment of unconventional materials speaks to her creativity. Her latest collection, ‘Solid Wovens’ features rubber-coated yarns, PVC, and leather.

Japan has long had a solid reputation for deceptively simple and innovative design and Satsuma Washi is certainly continuing this tradition. The Japanese design studio is run by Keiko Haraguchi and produces handmade original washi paper from the branches of the mulberry tree. This sustainable product is then transformed into stunning light installations and lamps.