Glassmaker Della Tinsley is one of that rare breed, a commercially aware designer, writes Theresa Simon. Despite the fact that she was selling to very high profile outlets, such as Barneys (New York) and Liberty?s (London) she decided to quit trade production to work exclusively for private clients.
In order to showcase her work to potential clients, Della opened up her studio to the public. Her success was such that a group of designer friends asked if they could sell under her banner and the East London Design Show (ELDS) was born. The first group studio sale took place in a room under Della?s glass workshop in Shoreditch High Street in 1994. At that time space was cheap and artists were flocking to the area. Tracey Emin?s shop had recently opened and Gary Hume was just setting up studio. Shoreditch was starting to register on the map and Della found a willing audience.
Furniture and lighting designer Chris Wright and multiples artist Sue Withers were Della?s first co-exhibitors. Chris designed flyers for local distribution, Time Out was contacted and Sue put a word-of- mouth visitor database together. The first sale attracted the attention of a visiting official from the nearby Shoreditch Town Hall. He was so impressed that he invited the group to use the then Hackney Council-run venue for the next designer sale. With the impetus to fill the Town Hall, Della began inviting other designers to exhibit alongside the core group. The number of exhibitors has steadily risen from twenty-five makers at that first Town Hall show to over one hundred regular exhibitors at each of the now bi-annual events.
Della vets applications for stands at the show and has become ruthless in her selection procedure, weeding out those whose work will not show to its best advantage in a commercial environment. She feels that design and art sit well together, since many design pieces are one-offs, unique artworks in their own right and both attract a similarly aesthetically aware audience. Thus uniquely for a design show, the ELDS presents new work in both functional and purely decorative fields.
The reason for the Show?s growth is simple: it makes good business sense for exhibitors. Well established textile designers Wallace Sewell take twice as much in their three days at the ELDS as they do at other week long events in London. Even Ella Doran, who has a very high profile in the design world, finds ELDS contributing a significant part of her cash flow.
By turning the ELDS into a bi-annual event, Della capitalises on two very specific art and design buying markets. Summer brings in homemakers, interior decorators, magazine stylists and buyers for major retail outlets, while the Winter show largely attracts Christmas gift buyers. Della advises her exhibitors to display their product accordingly and to maximise on these quite distinct markets.
PR is becoming another key tool in promoting the Show. Handling all the marketing, fundraising and PR for the show single-handedly has finally become unmanageable for Della, who approached me earlier this year to work on her summer show which took place in May, and the Christmas event as well. By refining her press list and pursue other avenues, such as personal profile press, her Show is gaining an even stronger identity. A feature in the ?How To Spend It? section of the Financial Times on the weekend of the May Show directly resulted in one exhibitor being commissioned to design and furnish an entire kitchen, while the number of press and stockists attending the show rose, proving that it is now being taken more seriously by the trade and giving a critical longer term boost to its activities.
Theresa Simon is Director of Theresa Simon Communications t: 020 7629 9645 e: theresa@tsimon.fsnet.co.uk The East London Design Show will be held at the Rich Mix Centre, Hackney from December 6-8 2002.