London Craft Week 2024 returns for its 10th edition, taking over the UK capital with over 500 events dedicated to showcasing the creativity and skill of designers, artists and makers. Exhibitions animate galleries, historic spaces and shops, and workshops and talks aim to champion and share the craft of talent. While the week celebrates London as a thriving centre of craftspeople and creative activity, it also showcases the global diversity of making. Here are some highlights of the week.
London Craft Week takes place 13–19 May across London. For the full programme visit londoncraftweek.com
London Craft Week 2024: explore the highlights
Trace at Mint
Mint, Transcending Mesh to Matter by Ralf Gloudemans
In Marylebone, design gallery Mint hosts the exhibition Trace, bringing together established and emerging designers whose work explores material and process in often unexpected ways – including Max Lipsey, IAMMI, Simone Post, Christophe Delcourt and Ralf Gloudemans. Gloudemans’ ceramic vessels in the Transcending: Mesh to Matter series result from 3D mesh structures generated using virtual reality, blending traditional craftsmanship with innovative technology. IAMMI’s Frankenstein collection uses industrial foam scraps to create furniture pieces in the form of abstract shapes. Max Lipsey’s minimalist Temper Pendant light, meanwhile, is made from tempered steel – in which the metal is heated at very high temperatures to create an iridescent finish.
3 - 5 Duke Street, W1U 3ED
mintgallery.co.uk
Beyond the Loom
The enduring influence of Sadu traditional weaving from Kuwait is celebrated at this showcase within the Embassy of Kuwait. Presented by AlSadu Society, Beyond the Loom: Contemporary Expressions of Sadu sees the craft – an embroidery defined by hand-woven geometric shapes which emerged from Bedouin desert communities across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – translated into applications across contemporary design, including furniture, fashion and decorative objects. Sadu, which has long harnessed natural fibres found in the local natural environment of the weavers, is inscribed on the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage list; initiatives such as these hope to keep the regional craft alive into the future.
Kuwait Embassy in London, 2 Albert Gate, SW1X 7JU
alsadu.org.kw
Future Icons Selects
Daniel Hayden furniture
Following its debut in 2023, the Future Icons Selects fair is back for a second year, filling Oxo Tower Wharf’s Bargehouse with over 50 designers, artists and craftspeople who display the impressive breadth of form that contemporary craft can take. Work on show spans homeware, textiles, jewellery, lighting, furniture, ceramics and more. Exhibitors include Daniel Hayden, who makes pleasingly chunky wooden furniture in organic shapes, and Meseme, a lighting studio led by Riya Panchal that produces emotionally informed pieces blending industrial and modernist references.
B C Joshua, Pompi Lamps and Bridge Bench
Meanwhile, the furniture of B C Joshua sparks delight and intrigue as weighty-looking blocks – in fact made from recycled paper mixed with salvaged plasterboard – combine with playful seating and lighting elements.
Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House St, SE1 9PH
futureicons.co.uk
Maker, Material and Method at Pophams
Grace McCarthy
Pophams Home, the homeware arm of the popular London bakery Pophams, presents the work of seven local makers – including Rebecca Morris and Grace McCarthy – who embrace hand-made and slow design approaches. The one-off pieces on show in Islington emerge from a range of methods and mediums, including ceramics, woodworking and textile art. On Thursday 16 May, the makers will offer demonstrations of their craft.
Pophams Home & Pantry, 19 Prebend Street, N1 8PF
pophamshome.com
Toast Presents New Makers
Fashion brand Toast, which runs an annual programme supporting international emerging makers, hosts an exhibition of unique pieces from this year’s cohort, alongside a series of demonstrations and workshops. Work on show includes white oak baskets woven by Amy Krone, experimental ceramic tableware from Polly Liu, hand-blown glass vessels by Rosie Stonham, minimal wooden furniture designed by Will Nock, and decorative stoneware by Kate Semple.
Toast Mayfair, 25–26 Dering Street, W1S 1AT
toa.st
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Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpieceNow hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
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Technogym’s new Pilates reformer blends peak performance with sleek designThe Technogym Reform is the latest addition to the company’s design-led equipment roster, made from sustainable materials including apple-skin leather
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Kaari Upson’s unsettling, grotesque and seductive world in DenmarkThe Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark is staging the first comprehensive survey of late artist Kaari Upson’s work
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‘Designers are far more than just producers of commercial goods’: Samuel Ross on the London Design BiennaleThe artistic director of the major event and founder of A-COLD-WALL* discusses the role of a designer and the future of the sector in an exclusive interview
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London Craft Week 2025 highlights – what to see this weekendLondon Craft Week 2025 (until 18 May) brings together some 1,000 established and emerging makers. Here is everything we saw and loved so you don't miss a thing
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Erasers become architectural illusions at Gallery FumiLondon duo Study O Portable unveil 'Rubber Rocks', trompe-l’œil furniture made from erasers, exploring themes of materiality, memory and architectural decay
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Liberty at 150: a history of the brand in 10 objectsLiberty is marking its 150th anniversary; to celebrate, we remember products and prints that helped make the department store the cultural touchpoint it is today
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A first look inside the new Oxford Street Ikea. Spoiler: blue bags and meatballs are includedThe new Oxford Street Ikea opens tomorrow (1 May), giving Londoners access to the Swedish furniture brand right in the heart of the city
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What to see at London Craft Week 2025With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
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Nature sets the pace for Alex Monroe’s first sculpture exhibitionThe British designer hops from jewellery to sculpture for his new exhibition at the Garden Museum, London. Here, he tells us why nature should be at the forefront of design
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A new London show explores material magic with medieval melancholyInspired by deconsecrated monasteries, interior designer and curator Jermaine Gallacher takes us on a journey through time and mood in a London exhibition at The Ragged School
