Another year at DENFAIR done and dusted, and we’re only just recovering. After a jam-packed few days celebrating the best and brightest of Australian design, we at est have finally had the chance to catch our breath and revisit all the highlights of one of Australia’s cornerstone design events. With over 8000 people flocking to Melbourne’s Convention and Exhibition Centre for the three day event, it was the biggest DENFAIR to date – and they were spoilt for inspiration, with countless installations, brands and products to explore. Here’s our highlights from the Melbourne event – don’t forget the Sydney edition is coming in August and you can register for tickets here.
FILM: Tom Graham | PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of DENFAIR
The first day of the event saw the DENFAIR Awards celebrate some of the standout designs and spaces, with judges Emma Telfer, Ewan Mceoin and Claire Beal tasked with making the difficult decisions. New Volumes™ C/O Artedomus took out the gong for Best Large Stand, while Volker Haug Studio won Best Small Stand for their tactile, walking-on-air space. We were happy to see our friends at Halcyon Lake recognised for Best Textile Product, while Spence & Lyda and Tait took out the trophies for Jon Goulder’s Innate Lounge Chair Night and Adam Cornish’s Seam Chair respectively.
Of course the award winners were just one part of the proceedings – and there was plenty more to see over the next two days at DENFAIR. From the 350+ local and international brands on show, we were particularly drawn to the practical yet punchy collection from Danish brand Montana at Cult, the playful colours and forms of the Designbythem stand, Nood ceramic basins and the new ETO Table at King Living, designed by Tom Fereday, to name just a few. The Art Salon also proved to be a favourite space for the est team (particularly when able to sit at the Art Bar and try to work through last minute tasks before our Issue 29 deadline…champagne in hand of course), and we were taken with the new collection of Brooke Holm prints and the beautiful marble pieces on show at Modern Times.
Celebrating the beauty and detail of materiality was at the forefront of many exhibitors at DENFAIR 2018, from the stone-centric collections at Artedomus and Navi, to the colour-filled pieces of Montana and Nood, to the richly textural installations at Armadillo, Spence & Lyda and Halcyon Lake.
Looks cool! And the details is just awesome!