Barrows of Booty; FOCUS/19

It made me laugh when I had to use a wheelbarrow to unload the brochures, free magazines and show guides, on returning from my visit to Focus/19 at the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour.

In fairness I had stopped off at our local garden centre to pick up some bulb fibre and potting grit in readiness for the planting out of my spring bulbs. (Watch this space).

On arrival at the harbour I was greeted at reception with a cheery message that the first Discovery Tour was about to begin. My timing was perfect as I quickly made my way to the North Dome to pick up the tour.

With a welcoming glass of fizz in one hand and my show guide in the other I enjoyed a whistle stop tour of half a dozen showrooms spread across the North and South Domes, and Design Centre East.

Enthusiasm radiated from the presenters as they introduced their new collections to a captive audience.

Stunning bathrooms, exquisite furnishings, Italian furniture, highly decorative wall coverings, and classic textiles were all on show.

New to Focus/19 was the avenue of pop-up room sets. Ligne Roset, Kit Kemp and Paint & Paper Library were the ones that caught my eye.

After a busy start to the show I took a breath and wandered the Design Centre for an hour or so pausing at the sights that caught my attention. These ranged from stunning window dressings, to pop-up ping-pong, to a live demonstration of a William Morris printing “machine”.

A treasure chest of trimmings was another spectacle that I could not resist…

To calm my senses I had earmarked a couple of events that I wished to attend in the afternoon.

The first was a design workshop hosted by KLC School of Design. Rebecca Weir, creative director of light.iQ, gave an enthralling talk abut illuminating one’s way to a happier and healthier life.

My final destination for the day was to the TALK Lecture Theatre where Ben Spriggs talked with artist and designer Luke Edward Hall. Here we learned about the early life of this young man and how this has led to collaborations with the likes of Habitat and Burberry.

As I left the theatre I couldn’t help be struck by the Pooky pop-up which featured their new lighting collection.

And on that note I made my way home….