Bisley host ‘Hoarders vs Editors’ Panel Discussion

Bisley, the British storage specialists, hosted ‘Hoarders vs Editors’ a panel discussion in their Clerkenwell show room on Thursday 22nd November. The event was a continuation of Bisley’s collaboration with design title Dirty Furniture and their Matter of Fact exhibition which was held during Clerkenwell Design Week.

The evening saw an expert panel discuss collecting. They investigated our desire to order the stuff that surrounds us. The panel was chaired by Writer and Editorial Consultant, Grant Gibson, and the rest of the panel consisted of:

• Anna Bates, the Co-Founder and Editor of Dirty Furniture
• Annabelle Campbell, Head of Exhibitions at Crafts Council
• Corinne Julius, Writer and Curator

The lively discussion to an audience of 40 furniture & design professionals delved into our desire to order the materials that surround us, the power of objects as ‘storytellers’ and why certain people feel compelled to ‘collect’ certain things. It also looked at the psychology of the collector and what classifies an object as a classic collectable piece.

Helen Owen, Marketing Director at Bisley, commented:

“One of the focuses of Bisley is storage and the exploration of what we need and want to keep, as well as why, is core to our business. We were delighted to welcome such a fantastic panel line-up to Dallington Street, continuing the discussion, in the context of an increasingly virtual world.”

The audience was keen to get involved; discussing their different collections and the rationale behind their collection choices which ranged from buttons, hand crafted jewellery and even plastic cutlery.
Grant Gibson, the panel chair, said of the event:

“It was a fascinating, wide-ranging discussion that encompassed the meaning of objects, why we feel compelled to keep things, and the difference between public and private collections. The fact that the audience got involved so rapidly was an added bonus.”