Stockholm Design Week starts Monday February 06, with its key exhibition Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair opening Tuesday 07 till Saturday 11 February. ARTS THREAD previews the highlights.

Colleen Ellington/ Lucy Alice Porter/ Sophie Adamson

Interiors UK 2012 showcased the work of this year’s New Design Britain Awards finalists with the winners in each design category being announced on the 23rd of January. Each winner in the four categories (furniture, furnishing accessories, surfaces and fabrics) were awarded a placement within the industry.

La Noir dans la Méditérranée: Ayda Pekin; Marion Vidal; Lara Khoury

We were drawn to the exhibition La Noir dans la Méditérranée at Who’s Next/Prêt-à-Porter – a display of seven designers, all from countries around the Mediterranean, who all worked on a project around the theme of Black.

Urbanisation, Sarahjane Harrison; 3D projects, Karin Soderquist

ARTS THREAD visits Designersblock’s Design Village this morning, taking in the 7 winning designers of the DESIGNERSBLOCK/ARTS THREAD Call for Entry – shown above Sarahjane Harrison and Karin Soderquist. Also look out for Catherine Frere-Smith, Katy Jennings, David Ryan Robinson, Camilla Barnard and Holly Wilson. Design Village also includes all manner of marvellous delights, including [...]

ARTS THREAD at Indigo Paris Home; Simon Ashby

ARTS THREAD takes part in the first of Indigo Paris Home today and brings you the news from the show, also on tomorrow at Bourse de Commerce, Paris.

Indigo New York

Emily Gup of directional pattern site New York Pattern Pulp talks about the trends from last week’s Indigo New York.

If you’re a fabric fan, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and wish that you could start snapping up some of the beautiful pieces on display. Cruising around the show’s three floors of fabrics and prints, you see many standbys such as plaids and florals, but it’s the new designs and burgeoning trends that make the trip a treat.

Rosemary Anrude/ Daniel Schofield/ Stuart Melrose

Following our successful collaboration at the Farmiloe Building during the London Design Festival, ARTS THREAD are once again teaming up with Designersblock to bring you the best emerging graduate and student design work. This time we’re heading up north to Birmingham where we will be taking part in the UK’s interiors trade exhibition Interiors UK – and we’d like you to join us! Visit our Designersblock competition page for further details on how you could be exhibiting your work in front of Britain’s top retailers and buyers.

In the meantime, we preview a selction of talents on show with Designersblock in January in Birmingham.

Jen Cheema, Chelsea College of Art & Design

Second year BA (Hons) Textile students studying at Chelsea College of Art & Design showcased some excellent examples of their work at an exhibition staged at the college late November 2011.

Working with the abstract theme From A to B and back again, students in print, weave, knit, stitch and digital textiles produced some diverse, experimental and exciting pieces of work. ARTS THREAD chooses some highlights.

Texprint Prize-Winners/ Como archive

Four Texprint prize-winners participated in the ComOn initiative, held in Como Italy from October 17 to 22. Now in its 4th year, this great event celebrates and supports emerging European talent in textiles, fashion design and art and is the perfect introduction to the strengths of the Como textile industry. Prize winners David Bradley, Harriet Toogood, Chloe Hamblin and Emma Shipley travelled to Como for the week’s series of presentations, workshops and visits to some of Italy’s most prestigious mills.

Helen Stevens, 'SurfacePhilia'

Surface Designer and Illustrator Helen Stevens, founder of design brand SurfacePhilia recently launched her gorgeous ‘Navajo’ wallpaper range at Tent London. The range holds five distinctive designs which draw inspiration from American bird types, feathers and the patterns found within Native-American jewellery. ARTS THREAD caught up with Helen to talk about her career, university days and future plans for SurfacePhilia.