There is a wonderful alchemy at work during Livingetc's series of Design, Directed dinners. We invite the most creative, forward-looking and - most importantly - fun designers we know to join us for an evening of connections, conversations and collaboration. Each time we do it, last trains are missed, lights are flicked on by the venue, the guests have to be turfed out because they're all having too much of a good time! It always feels more like an intimate supper with friends - which is what it is, friends being both old and new - than a work do.
Our latest event, in partnership with Farrow & Ball, was held in a private room at The Devonshire in Soho, the 'it' pub with, supposedly, the best Guinness outside of Dublin and certainly the best food at that end of town. It was buzzy, it was busy, Lily Allen was hosting a dinner in the room dowstairs. The walls were painted in Farrow and Ball's Eating Room Red and it set the scene for a night of conviviality.
Minnie Kemp and Claire Gaskin greet across the table
Undoubtedly, where that alchemic magic of Design, Directed comes from is in our curated guest list. Livingetc's senior editors open their little black books to bring together the people shaping what interiors look like today. This time, the table featured:
Christian Bense, Pip Rich, Tiffany Duggan, Minnie Kemp, Ayisha Onourah, Sophie Paterson, Jojo Barr, Rachael Gowdridge, Ananth Ramaswamy, Clare Gaskin, Sophie Rowell, Sarah Spiteri, Anahita Rigby, Sarah Peake, Kate Guinness, Jasmine Fisher, Lizzie Green, Laura Stephens, Henry Prideaux, Jo Le Gleud and Farrow and Ball's Joa Studholme, Patrick O'Donnell, Claire Dunbar and Georgia Farey.
“What we always do at Livingetc is bring life to design - we turn images into inspiration and ideas into actionable choices. Design, Directed is a natural extension of this, having been run all over the world, creating a network of the most dynamic people working today," says Livingetc's executive editor Pip Rich. "We've built - and are building - a community. And I love how much the people in it love being in it."
From left: Joa Studhome, Claire Dunbar, Patrick O'Donnell. Christian Bense, Pip Rich, Anahita Rigby
The dinners are not about marketing pitches, but throughout the evening there was a quiet celebration of Farrow & Ball’s new wallpaper launch, an archival rediscovery of some historic patterns, newly re-released as Heritage Papers. One, featuring a pretty pattern of sweetpeas, was featured on the menu, and placements were hand-painted glasses with names on them and motifs taken from the papers.
“The partnership felt so organic, and like we were bringing the prints to life without anybody trying or needing to sell them,” said Sarah Spiteri, Livingetc’s Global Editor in Chief. “They just formed part of the narrative of the evening, alongside all the other hilarious stories, gossip and creative idea swapping that naturally happens when you bring this sort of crowd together."
Ananth Ramaswamy and Jasmine Fisher
The sign of a great event is, of course, that no one wants to leave. At The Devonshire, Kate Guinness missed her last train and had to crash with a friend, Anahita Rigby and Clare Gaskin were still chatting in the street long after the venue had closed. It felt like collaborations were quietly being formed over final sips of coffee.
Because that’s exactly what Design, Directed is about. It’s not just another industry dinner or panel discussion but something much more. Design, Directed is a salon-style gathering where the most interesting people in design come together to talk, challenge each other and, best of all, have fun. And who would want that to end?
Sweet Peas 6703, one of Farrow and Ball's designs from the newly released Heritage Papers collection; Tiffany Duggan
See the whole of the Heritage Papers collection from Farrow and Ball here