Deoron brings its ‘instinct for the unexpected’ to Berlin

Last week (9-13 September 2026), more than 65 designers, brands and independent studios took over a long-dormant former distillery in Berlin. Staged by emerging design platform Deoron, the five-day exhibition coincided with Berlin Art Week and formed part of Currents, a new design festival that took place across the city.

The setting was Monopol, a 900 sq m former distillery built in 1899 in Reinickendorf, close to several of Berlin Art Week’s northern hubs. Across three floors and a series of naturally lit rooms, furniture, lighting, homeware, technology and lifestyle products were presented as a single, carefully composed environment, rather than separated into the categories of a conventional trade show.

Among the participants were designers working across materials and disciplines, many of them German-born and Germany-based. Recent Camberwell College of Arts graduate Antonia Fischer presented ‘Trauer Tragen’, a chair that explores grief and memory through material and form. Bruges-based Thomas Serruys combines traditional craftsmanship with an experimental sensibility in pieces including his ‘Rollmaster’ library chair, while German designer Naomi Elser, now based in Rotterdam, brings industrial materials into dialogue with delicate craft techniques.

Providing a counterpoint to Elser’s sharp-edged metalwork were the blackened-wood pieces of Marius Holtgreve, whose practice explores the relationship between objects and everyday life. Juliana Maurer, meanwhile, presented glass pieces that appear to have been grown by nature rather than made by hand.

These emerging or more experimental practices were joined by established manufacturers including Danish design brand Hay and Tubes, the Italian company that has been transforming radiators into design objects since 1992.

In an industry overrun with exhibitions and events clamouring for attention, the emergence of Deoron, a platform that began life as an instagram account, is impressive. Its founder, Alberto Pallaoro – then a 26-year-old product design graduate – initially used the account to showcase his own work. It subsequently evolved into a showcase for emerging design, a digital magazine, e-commerce directory and agency, distinguished by Pallaoro’s eye for products and projects that are beautiful, functional and difficult to find – what Deoron calls its ‘instinct for the unexpected’.

Having firmly established itself as a tastemaker in the digital realm, Deoron staged its first physical event during Milan Design Week in 2025, followed by an edition at Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design 2026. Berlin is its third gathering to date, giving its online community an opportunity to encounter in person the work they would usually scroll through on a screen. It reflects a reversal of the migration from physical to digital that defined the 2000s and 2010s: where the emphasis was once on speeding up, a generation raised on digital discovery increasingly appears to crave slower and more deliberate ways of engaging with design.

Deoron's events occupy architecturally distinctive locations with live sounds and fragrances chosen to shape the atmosphere. Previous editions have included tea tastings, magazine launches, dinners, guided tours, scent rituals, meditation, yoga, vinyl listening sessions and live music. 'This isn't a static exhibition with objects on a floor,' Deoron says. 'It's something that moves, shifts, and develops: no two days are alike.'

At the centre of the Berlin edition was a sculptural sound system developed by Paris- and Muscat-based Atelier d’Ingénierie Fades with German loudspeaker manufacturer New Fidelity. Conceived as a shared study of sound, it hosted listening sessions, live performances and informal gatherings throughout the event. A natural-wine bar run by Nature’s Calling remained open across the five days, establishing the exhibition as a place to spend time rather than hurry through.

The wider line-up included Anoe Melliou, Aoiro, Arkove Studio, Axel Arigato x Termino, Bachner Vessels, Bottone, Céline d’Oultremont, Cezar Moldovan, Clémentine Long, Danidevito, des Fragments, Do_Blok, Dublo Studio, Eenvoud Ontwerp, Radial Studios, Fenna Kosfeld, Forma, Garance Pröbsting, Gast Studio, Geste, Haus of Hart, Houbi, Kieran Feechan and Domenico Di Paolo, Latess, Leon Remmert, LMW Studio, Luis Frey, M85 Studio, Madeleine K. Wieser, Manu Matters, Mati Sipiora, MK Forms, NCForm, NG Design, Noah Livin, Nodi Studio, Omri Sidi, Ostal Studio, Paolo de Castiglioni, Perfume Who, Please Touch, Ray N Ceramics, Re.Pete, Redux Design, Resør, Restless Audio, Sestrá, Shao-Chun Hsu, Sofiia Sytnyk, Stephen Chan, Studio Akuratna, Studio Wak, Szymon Keller, Tylko, Valuarte, Victor Hahner, Worn Studio and Yont.