Ahead of the Design Museum’s hotly anticipated relocation to the iconic Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington this November, the new Design Museum Shop on Kensington High Street (just a short hop down the road) opens for perusal.
Small put perfectly formed, the space hints at what’s to come from the new Design Museum, as both spaces have been subject to the minimalist eye and artful guidance of British designer and friend of the museum John Pawson. Plain, smoke-grey walls chime with the designer’s ’undesigned’ aesthetic, while textures of stained oak, glass and a cream terrazzo floor nod to the 1960s – the era that the Grade-II listed museum building was built.
Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum explains, ’The Design Museum shop reflects the values of the museum itself. It’s our ambassador on the high street, always changing, always full of fascinating things, displayed with style, and staffed by people who live and breathe design.’
The shop’s 76 sq m space proves size isn’t everything, and it packs a well designed punch. Compact shop fixtures come courtesy of Vitra Retail and classic Dieter Rams-designed Vitsoe ’606’ shelving lines the walls. Large windows on three sides give the illusion that the store is a magnified display case, in which to showcase tempting trinkets from new and established talent.
We were particularly taken by Torafu Architects’ ’Air Vases’, and the Barber & Osgerby jugs for Royal Doulton. Expect a rotating range of time-honoured classics like these, along with mixed global ephemera at reasonable prices, and a tight edit of more expensive objects and memorabilia, all of which uphold the Museum’s commitment to quality, ingenuity and of course, style.
