A travelling exhibition of chairs hits the road for London Design Festival 2025

‘A Seat at the Table’ (16–21 September 2025) is not your average design exhibition. Featuring chairs crafted by 37 young designers, the show travels around London in the back of a Luton van – traditionally used for moving furniture – and pops up at various places in the city where a curated set of seats becomes both the subject and the support for communal events including workshops and panel discussions.

The exhibition, coinciding with London Design Festival, is organised by Design Everything, a platform dedicated to supporting emerging creatives, itself run by five young designers: Lewis Duckworth, Jacob Marks, Eleanor Murphy, Tabatha Pearce Chedier and Sammi Cherryman.

‘With all of our exhibitions we want to showcase the power of design, beyond its immediate aesthetic value,’ says Marks. As such, the platform also seeks to build a sense of community within the design world and be a beacon of progress in fostering better inclusivity – such as helping young and disadvantaged designers set up their practices.

‘There are just so many barriers to establishing yourself as a designer, from the cost of digital programmes to the difficulty in finding an affordable and accessible workshop space,’ says Marks. ‘We wanted to create a space for emerging designers which encourages creative freedom.’

Design Everything chose to organise a roving exhibition in the back of a van to avoid the high costs of renting an exhibition space – a barrier for many young designers – and in order to visit an eclectic mix of venues, including those outside of the design world. At each stop of the exhibition, from Tokyobike in Shoreditch to Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross, the seats are taken from the van to be used for an event.

Making the seats functional objects rather than pieces to be observed ‘challenges the formal exhibition environment’, says Marks, and changes the way the objects are perceived. ‘They are then used to facilitate community-oriented events, which to us is a powerful way of symbolising what designed objects can do – illustrating their potential to connect, inspire, and bring people together in unexpected ways.’

Designers whose work will form part of the exhibition include Jesse Butterfield, Y Lennon-Chong, Odd Universe and Sofia Matheou – as well as all five organisers of Design Everything. The chairs span a range of materials and forms – from welded steel to solid timber – and some feature upcycled elements including stair spindles and a car clamp; the only brief was a 45cm x 45cm x 45cm size restriction so all chairs could fit in the van together.

Design Everything turned to a panel of advisors to help select the works from over 150 anonymous open call submissions. The panel included director and photographer Bafic, editor and journalist Oli Stratford, creative director and cultural consultant Vickie Hayward, and 3D design studio Isabel + Helen. ‘We wanted the panel to be reflective of the design world, ensuring it represented a range of disciplines, so one particular approach wasn't favoured,’ says Marks.

Through ‘A Seat at the Table’, Design Everything is building momentum to ensure the platform can have a positive impact. Marks reports it has set up ‘Design Everything Visits’, taking designers on tours of factories, as well as a community chat where members can share useful resources or questions. Plans for future exhibitions are also in the works – including for London Design Festival next year.

‘A Seat at the Table’ (16–21 September) pops up at various venues across London. See the Design Everything Instagram for details