Kirath Ghundoo's Mix 'n' Match wallpaper collection explores geometric patterns and bold colour combinations. www.kirathghundoo.com
Kirath Ghundoo's Mix 'n' Match wallpaper collection explores geometric patterns and bold colour combinations. www.kirathghundoo.com

Trendspotting: What to watch for at the London Design Festival



As I write, I'm preparing for my annual trip to the London Design Festival, the most exciting week of the year for contemporary interior design, packed with the latest products, materials and technology.

Every year, world-class designers and creative types join forces with emerging talent to showcase their work and launch their new collections. So this week I'll highlight some of the key designers that trend forecasters will be looking out for.

The show that started it all, 100% Design in London's Earls Court, is a hub of creative talent and a key event on the international design calendar. Kirath Ghundoo, a young and exciting designer that we've been keeping an eye on over the past year, will launch her Mix 'n' Match wallpaper collection. Her eclectic style draws inspiration from a variety of sources, from fashion to architecture. Her work is a mash-up of pattern and colour, exploring simple and complex geometrics and bold colour combinations. It's bang on-trend, since we expect a fusion of styles to emerge over the next two years. The digitally printed collection allows the user creative freedom to display patterns as single strips, endless repeats or a mix, creating a strong visual statement in any interior space.

We'll also check out the fractal beauty of Zhang Zhoujie's digital lab. He explores new digital creation methods, combining traditional handmade techniques with the latest manufacturing processes to create unique, bespoke furniture pieces. This year he will show an architectural, futuristic chair and arching stool, each composed of a series of triangles that are precisely fixed together by hand.

The small but supercool Tramshed show in Rivington Street, Shoreditch, which opened last year, brings together a fabulous range of innovative designers. We'll definitely walk the cobbled street again this year to see collaborations between De La Espada and Benjamin Hubert, and Soren Rose Studio and the award-winning Istanbul-based design studio Autoban, which will be launching six new products this year, including the Pill lamp, a wonderful capsule-like piece available in steel and brass in three different forms.

Benjamin Hubert's latest range of furniture and lighting follows his signature material-led design process. He uses a range of natural materials including granite, blown glass, marble and leather in a true celebration of the handmade. He gives the raw materials an industrial edge by emphasising new construction techniques and a functional, simplistic aesthetic. We'll be looking for his Quarry marble lighting pieces, visually quiet yet strikingly beautiful in their simple elegance.

Shelley Pond is the creative director of Scarlet Opus, www.trendsblog.co.uk, www.scarletopus.com

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
About RuPay

A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank

RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards

It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.

In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments

The name blends two words rupee and payment

Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs

Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

While you're here
How to increase your savings
  • Have a plan for your savings.
  • Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
  • Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
  • It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings. 

- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

 

 

SQUADS

UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan

Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

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