Emporium Live! saw talks and demonstrations at the Design Emporium Collective, turning the space into a rich experience
With an expanded portfolio of 13 more names joining the fold, Focus/26 on Design marked a point of celebration for the Design Emporium Collective.
This multi-brand space has been steadily growing since it opened in spring 2026, and on the first day of the show, Emporium Live! saw it humming with activity via a programme of special demonstrations and talks. A chance to meet the makers, ask questions and see artisan skill in action, the day unfolded across the Fifth Floor of Design Centre East.
“I’ve always been inspired by nature – I’m always looking at the floor,” says Chantal Turner, a graduate designer whose work was spotted by Richard Smith of Emporium brand Madeaux. At Emporium Live! she was there to introduce her Selborne collection – which includes the dandelion pattern that caught Smith’s eye at her graduate show – and explain more about her work.
Rough drawings and painted artworks were on show to help tell the story, and she also explained how “repeat first, then refine” was part of her process – in other words, don’t start thinking about the detail of the design before the pattern repeat is fully formed.
Over at Naomi Paul, Valeria Kiyko was showing how one of the brand’s huge, 1m-diameter pendant lights was hand-crocheted. Kiyko has a background in knitwear design, so her skills were eminently transferable to the lighting brand’s products.
“You can’t really rush them,” she explained. “Every stitch is visible.” The epitome of slow design, each large pendant represents 50 hours’ work.
Grace Mattingly was demonstrating her ink-on-paper skills at Maison Lenoble, the wallcovering brand set up by Anne-Estelle Lenoble to harness the work of professional artists – resulting in wallcoverings with a highly creative point of difference.
Mattingly’s luminous colours and whimsical subject matter have a dream-like quality that works wonderfully when enveloping a room. Mattingley may have found her greatest fan in Lenoble, who says that “she paints things that are in my soul.”
Other activities included stonemason Ian Knapper telling the story of his remarkable marble cabinet; Megan Osborne of Gayle Warwick explaining the process of creating bespoke table linen; Fromental’s Lizzie Deshayes demonstrating the techniques of hand-embroidery that adorn its prestigious wallcoverings; and ceramicist Funda Ersoysal sharing the traditional skills behind Soho Lighting Co.’s Acanthus collection.
Last but not least, attention was turned to important domestic matters, as chef Jules Kane baked delicious bread in the Emporium’s AGA, and Yves Delorme demonstrated how to make the perfect bed.
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