Championing the design industry, design education, design consumers and the next wave of graduate designers, the New Designers exhibition last week brought 3,000 of the best design graduate talent from leading design courses across the UK. The show allows visitors to buy new products and commission or recruit the newest designers in the industry.
New Designers also likes to stay involved with the progress of all of it’s exhibiting designers in a segment they call One Year On. This year, Blackhorse Workshop member Tim Summers was among the selected line up showcasing his Suber Collection, a group of products made from layers of cork.
“I got involved with New Designers, One Year On through exposure from the Crafts Council Hothouse scheme. The organisers had seen my profile on the Crafts Council Directory and invited me to apply. I hadn’t previously exhibited at New Designers when I graduated but I had heard good things about One Year On and thought it would be a good goal to work towards as the year progressed.”
Talking about how New Designers helped his career Tim tells us, “In the run up to the show the Curator of the One Year section Rhianna Lingham and her team, along with event partners The Design Trust and the events PR company Colman Getty all offered huge amounts of helpful advice in preparing for the event. There was a preparation day with presentations from previous exhibitors on their experiences, Patricia Van Der Akker from The Design Trust offered advice on things like targeting the right markets and pricing and Yeshen Venema gave tips on photographing work. There were also 2 webinars that participants could subscribe to for further tips and advice. As an exhibitor its a great opportunity to meet press, trade and general public and its a great opportunity to practice talking about your work and presenting yourself.”
You can see what else took place on social media by searching the hashtag #ND17 and follow Tim’s story and other designers who showcased in the One Year On category by searching the hashtag#OYOMakerSpotlight.Visit his website at:https://timsummersdesign.com