#how we create

As designEX – Australia’s largest showcase of interior products, finishes and accessories – heads into it’s 24th year, the exhibition has unveiled not only a new look but an entirely new vision that will ensure the event continues as the key platform for design professionals to connect, inspire and explore the latest in their field.

After several years of the event coinciding with Milan’s Salone del Mobile, this year designEX will be held May 14, 15,16 – the date change opening the door to brands such as Great Dane, SPENCE&LYDA, The Authentic Design Alliance, Porter’s Paints and many other leading suppliers. 

Along with new ownership, the newly appointed management team share an innate passion for design, evident in the unveiling of the new look branding by LEUVER DESIGN, along with independently curated elements such as the NEST – a showcase of independent Australian designers / design makers / bespoke craftspeople.

David Knott's Candelabra

Adam Cornish's Monkey Pots

The Nest has been curated by design consultant and journalist Anne-Maree Sargeant, founder of thesnapassembly.com blog.

“With several existing platforms that promote emerging design talent and product at prototype stage, we identified the opportunity for independent designers with market-ready product to present their work within a commercial context,” Sargeant explains. 

Charles Wilson at work

An invited group of 20 independent Australian designers and design collectives will showcase new products, with exposure to 15,000 design industry professionals next month in Sydney.

The NEST 2012 will feature new work from Blakebrough+King, Charles Wilson, Alexander Lotersztain, DesignByThem, and Adam Cornish, among others, with all exhibitors aiming to connect with specifying architects and interior designers, and in some cases hoping to expand their sales distribution network.

NEST designer, Adam Cornish

Design duo Ben Blakebrough and Sarah King are Blakebrough+King. Working from their studio in the Southern Highlands, outside Sydney, the pair is currently consolidating 6 years of design practice into a strong collection destined for the Australian retail market.

Ben Blakebrough and Sarah King

“After launching prototype works several years consecutively at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, we are focusing on expanding our local presence as wholesalers through designEX,” says King. “We also hope to engage new collaborations with architects and interior designers.”

Sarah curated The Other Hemisphere, an Australian design collective that exhibited in Milan at Salone del Mobile. Read the profile in INSIDE by Domingo Robledo.

Placements for this year’s installation are all but finalised, anyone wanting more information should contact Anne-Maree Sargeant.

By Ben Morgan.