London Fields benefits from design boost

Black + White + Colour’s brightly-painted shipping containers beneath a railway arch

Hackney has long been known as a haven for designers and artists. Now the design element of local creative endeavour has an official hub: London Fields Design District (LFDD).

Launching tomorrow (20 September) with a bevy of private views and open studios, the ‘district’ is made up of designers in the realms of furniture, interiors, graphic design, illustration, product design and fashion.

Timed to coincide with the tenth London Design Festival, the inauguration of LDFF is intended to put this hotspot of creativity on the global design map.

Claire Landon, co-founder of the London Fields Design District says: “Leading British and international designers have established London Fields as East London’s creative hub, transforming derelict buildings into state of the art studios and giving birth to a high quality craft movement encompassing interiors, the arts, fashion, food and drink.”

Another LFDD co-founder, Emma Kalkhoven, hailed the initiative: “As a young design studio, we find being in London Fields and surrounded by other creatives greatly inspiring.

“We wanted to set up a new design district to showcase this talent to others, as well as use it to encourage collaboration between the different designers in the area.

“The huge number of creative people living and working in London Fields is what gives the area its energy, and we thought the London Design Festival was the perfect opportunity to celebrate this”.

The LFDD includes a wide range of individuals and organisations, including ArtWords, Black +White + Colour, Daniel Spring Handmade Beds, East London Design Show at Emigre Studios, Fabrications, London Fields Brewery, Mentmore Studios and Netil House.