Creativity in the City: Milliken for London Design Festival

Milliken’s Clerkenwell showroom will become a celebration of creativity in the city for this year’s London Design Festival (LDF).

On launch night, September 19^th, Katie Treggiden will be in conversation with leading design journalist Josh Fehnert of Monocle magazine exploring the themes raised in the book and specifically the opportunities and challenges raised for creatives in the urban environment. A book signing with Thames & Hudson selling books will follow.Ceramicist and former Victoria & Albert Museum artist in residence Matthew Raw will be based in the Milliken showroom throughout LDF offering hands-on making workshops and demonstrations. Matthew (graduate of Brighton University and Royal College of Art) is a ceramicist working in East London. He will recreate a miniature version of his studio in Milliken’s Clerkenwell showroom. Visitors will be able to watch Matthew go about his daily work, surrounded by finished samples and tools of his trade, ask questions and find out more about the life of a ceramicist living and working in London. In his tile-making workshops particpants are invited to make their own clay-slab colour canvas following a discussion about the colours and patterns we find around us.Throughout LDF Milliken will host an exhibition of work by ceramicists – Nicola Tassie, Barry Stedman, Florian Gadsby and Matthew Warner – all featured in Katie Treggiden’s book: Urban Potters – Makers in the City. There will also be screenings of the film Made in London, a series of short films made by Katie Treggiden and William Scothern for Design Milk. Each film features a London-based maker and their work. During LDF Milliken will be screening an exclusive preview of the film about potter Chris Keenan, who did his apprenticeship under Edmund de Waal.

Katie Treggiden is a design writer, editor, curator, lecturer and consultant. Treggiden writes for the Guardian Magazine, the Telegraph Magazine, Elle Decoration and Icon, among others. She is the author of The Makers of East London and of The Residents: Inside the Iconic Barbican Estate. In her book Katie explores the contemporary revival of pottery, focusing on six inspiring cities and their makers. 27 young and passionate ceramicists in New York, London, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Sydney and Sao Paulo introduce us to their work, their studios and their inspiration. All events are free and to be held at the Milliken showroom, 5 Berry Street, London EC1V 0AA. Booking is required for workshops and opening night: