Cornwall Design Fair

It’s fair to say that London is somewhat hogging the national limelight at the moment. However, the Cornwall Design Fair taking place next month shows that there’s life out west way beyond the big smoke.

Now in its seventh year, the fair will take place in Trereife House, the beautiful Queen Anne ancestral home of the Le Grice family in Penzance.

The fair will show work from more than 70 designer-makers, including furniture, textiles, ceramics, lighting, jewelry, glass and fashion accessories.

Alongside the products themselves, there will be workshops, demonstrations, live entertainment, design-led activities for children and the Curated Exhibition, which sees a select group of designer-makers create an installation responding to the site itself.

Events manager Rob Lewis says, ‘The atmospheric Le Grice family home is a perfect companion to these contemporary artworks, which often combine modern materials with the quality of traditional techniques and workmanship.

‘The challenge for the designers is to juxtapose their contemporary creativity with the timeless grandeur of the individual rooms they are allocated.’

Among the pieces that caught our eye are these lovely owl cushions, by Sam Pickard:

And these cute seedfeeders by Green & Blue:

True to the Cornish setting, this woodprint by Rob Braybooks evokes sea air and nature with the charming bird silhouettes:

Cornwall Design Fair runs from 17-19 August at Trereife House, Penzance, Cornwall TR20. For more information visit www.cornwalldesignfair.co.uk