Some of the APM team – Leah Chisnall, Cat Hoad, Liz Bell and Anu Abolaji
Decorex is one of the biggest annual design show in London – suppliers, makers and specialists exhibit their most recent collections and designers get inspiration and info and a chance to catch up. There’s usually a good programme of relevant talks too.
This year our Design Director, Liz Bell, was invited to be on the panel of the BIID seminar on Making Sustainable Choices: 10 questions to ask your supplier. The discussion covered many of the challenging topics these questions raise and panellists had very different views on how to deal w them.
Our key areas to consider when sourcing sustainably:
Circular design – where a piece is repeatedly adapted and reused to break the usual consumer cycle route of – ‘take, make, waste’. Circular design aims to reduce consumption – consumers are encouraged to re-use, repair, adapt or re-purposing items instead of automatically replacing with new.
Biophilic design – a human-centred design approach promoting the use of natural materials, working with our surroundings to improve the wellness and health in a space.
Consider the sustainability of a product. This can include:
checking for/ reducing VOC and pesticide chemical content,
reducing use of virgin materials/ favouring recycled content
avoiding high-water usage processes
looking for accreditations such as FSC certified wood, Greenguard or Oeko-Tex
Loads more info and help with sourcing sustainably can be found in the BIID’s sustainability specifying guide. For the Interior Designer readers out there, who are looking to improve their sustainable practices, we’ve recently contributed to a Houzz article that offers some useful tips – How to be a Truly Sustainable Interior Designer.
The panel: Augustine Atobatele of Studio Augustine, APM Design Director Liz Bell, BIID President Mathew Freeman, and Adrian of Aterre Studio.
Needless to say we also feasted on the eye candy that is the Decorex stands, reviewing interesting products and new suppliers, with a focus on sustainable options. Some of our favourite were:
We’ve used products by this contemporary lighting supplier and have more specified for an upcoming project. We love their Art Deco-inspired contemporary design style AND that their fittings are handcrafted in the UK – the Birmingham-base means a reduced carbon footprint transporting fittings from factory to buyer. We’re impressed they use high-quality recycled materials in their products.
Furniture designer Christian Watson’s key design goal is the creation of the next ‘timeless heirloom.’ i.e. pieces that can be passed down through the generations. We were v taken by his use of classic linear silhouettes and simple materials, made to a high standard.
To help reduce ‘throw-away culture’, piece come with a detailed care packages (for accidents such as red wine spills) to encourage repair over replacement. We like that the collections are designed and made in the UK using sustainable materials such as 100% British wool.
Sedilia base their designs on improving our physical and mental wellbeing- blending timeless design with innovation and modern technology. Sedilia also focus on creating furniture that is made by hand in the UK and designed to be re-used.
At APM, we love stunning design but know how important it is to look into the business behind the brand, aiming to research the processes, materials, and unique details of each product before we suggest them to our clients. it was exciting to find new brands that produce beautiful pieces that are sustainable and thoughtfully designed.
APM is a founding member of Interior Design Declares – encouraging designers and suppliers to work more sustainably and providing a huge bank of resources to help our profession do so.