The coronavirus pandemic has caused – and we hate to use what has now become a cliché – an unprecedented situation. Long-running exhibitions have been deferred or cancelled for 2020, showrooms temporarily shuttered, and production brought momentarily to a standstill.
A positive to come out of the COVID-19 crisis, though, is it has forced us all to embrace technology. At work, team meetings have been swapped for Teams meetings and, in our personal life, logging on to a live stream of a sporting event or gig has become second nature.
While webinars are nothing new, with their growth and popularity pre pandemic well documented, the crisis has brought about an acceptance beyond just the tech aficionado, providing the hosting company or brand an almost new platform to get in front of an audience, without the traditional running costs of an event.
While we miss the face-to-face or close quarter interactions we’d have had access to through an event such as Clerkenwell Design Week, we’re thankful to those who have made sure our opportunities to learn and discover during lockdown are not lacking.
Here are three virtual events from companies with a link to the Design Guild Mark that you may find absorbing.
Take A Seat Interview Series – Monica Förster
In a 25-minute Zoomterview, design writer and podcaster Grant Gibson speaks to Monica Förster about her new collection, Panda, for Modus – manufacturer of multiple Design Guild Mark awarded pieces of furniture – and how her experimental approach got her into furniture design.
Materials in Times of Change: Textiles, Felt and More
What makes up the perfect blend of workplace materials and sustainable design? Interior Design editor-in-chief Cindy Allen brings together Copenhagen-based designer Nina Bruun, KnollTextiles creative director Dorothy Cosonas and Kim Yao, principal ARO Architecture Research Office, to shed light on colour and texture in webinar ‘Materials in Times of Change: Textiles, Felt and More’, part of two Knoll Design Days.
The design story of Zones with PearsonLloyd and Helen Parton
Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd of design studio PearsonLloyd are joined by design journalist and author Helen Parton and discuss the design process, inspiration, and creation of their Zones collection for Teknion. The collection focuses on informal collaborative spaces and its design is led by the desire to combine the performance qualities of contemporary engineering with traditional furniture making. Incidentally, the side chair from the collection was put forward for and awarded a Design Guild Mark in 2017.
