The doors of Material Matters have now closed. The new, four-day, event, founded by design industry stalwarts William Knight and Grant Gibson, welcomed thousands of visitors to Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf. Once there, they discovered an array of products, installations and ideas, as well as a talks programme that featured some of the most important names in design, architecture and craft.

‘We’ve been delighted at the response we’ve had to the fair,’ says Material Matters co-founder Grant Gibson. ‘When William and I decided to set up the event, we were determined that it should have a clear purpose – to highlight the importance of material intelligence – and that we needed to create a piece of culture rather than just another trade show.’

Installations included Reclaim, an extraordinary textile piece in the entrance to Bargehouse, which was created by leading gallery Ruup & Form and its inaugural artist-in-residence, Beatrice Mayfield. The piece consisted of ghost-like textile panels with surface patchwork based on traditional Korean techniques. It also included contributions from an array of other textile artists.

On the top floor, artist Stuart Haygarth created, META, a specially commissioned chandelier made from collections and reconfigurations of existing lights. Elsewhere, LAYER, the experience design agency, celebrated the launch of its new monograph, written by Max Fraser and published by Phaidon, with its own exhibition and Carl Clerkin and Alex Hellum produced, Sons of Beasley, an installation that focused on spontaneous and sustainable design and production. It included samples of work produced from scrap components at the Beasley Brothers Repair Shop, which was on show at Eternally Yours, an exhibition about care, repair and healing at Somerset House.

Across the courtyard in gallery@oxo, the Wood Awards unveiled its shortlist in a beautifully designed exhibition.

Fundamentally, the fair focussed on how we can use our resources more effectively. Hydro, the Norwegian aluminium brand, held workshops and seminars devoted to recycled aluminium, for instance, and how we work with materials often perceived as waste was an overarching theme: Natured Squared showed tiles made from eggshells; up-and-coming designer, Tom Robinson, displayed a vessel-cum-carafe made in 3D printed recycled plastic; SolidWool illustrated how it takes the fleece of the Herdwick sheep and, by combining it with bio-resin, transforms it into the seat of a chair; Alkesh Parmar wowed visitors with new products fashioned from orange peel; Studio KH showed lampshades made from banana fibre; and Rootful produced pieces made from grassroots.

The fair also contained a marketplace element with major brands, such as Fora Form and Ragnars, as well as emerging companies like Irish furniture company, Modet. And there was still room for makers and designers, who are experts in a particular material: from Sebastian Cox’s furniture made from wood to Rokos’ glass vessels, via a slew of ceramic artists including Living Object, Kerry Hastings and HJ Keramikk.

That potent brew of exhibitors was topped off by a provocative talks programme that tackled topics ranging from the future use of plastic to the relationship between neurodiversity and creativity, via more irreverent issues such as why architects are so obsessed with designing chairs. Speakers included: Nigel Coates, Bethan Laura Wood, Adam Nathaniel Furman, Naomi Cleaver, LAYER founder Benjamin Hubert, trend forecaster and materials expert Caroline Till, glass artist Chris Day, leather guru Bill Amberg, HagenHinderdael’s Sofia Hagen, and Michael Marriott.

‘One of the things we are trying to do with the fair is break down silos within fields of creativity. We wanted makers to talk to architects and product designers in discussion with people from the world of fashion,’ says Material Matters co-founder William Knight. ‘The audience seemed incredibly engaged in sessions that ranged from the relationship between craft and architecture to the circular economy in the clothing industry.’

According to the team at Spared, the new start up by designers, Volume Creative: ’Material Matters curated a beautiful array of interesting materials and trailblazing innovators. We were so delighted to be a part of it and share our approach to waste as a raw material. Visitors were enthusiastic, curious and engaging and it is proving to be of great value, as we’ve already had a host of follow-up enquiries.’

Image credits: Mark Cocksedge