This will probably appeal to those of you on the office sector who remember Designer Saturday. It was “27 years ago today” when a group of 12 formed a limited company to run the first event which then ran for 8 years. So now back with a new Group of 11 participants of which only one was a previous participant. Who? I’ll tell you at the end.

On Friday 26 September I visited all 11 showrooms and had my passport stamped to prove it. The concept is to use London showrooms to host a variety of events many of which reach out to all those in the market and their families – children were indeed welcome. So how did it go? And would footbaths be a good idea next year. Anyway here is a quick tour of a really good day, uplifting it must be said.

Early morning in to see Faram on Commercial Road, the furthest outpost on the tour and I bumped into the first of many ex colleagues. Ian is blissfully happy at Faram and with super working conditions it’s not hard to see why. Then on to Knoll which was neatly located on the Smithfield Market site. It was good to reacquaint with some design classics but it was a short stop on the tour.

After getting lost in a new housing development it was soon on to see the new Ahrend showroom in Clerkenwell. Beautifully presented as you would expect and that Dutch style was clear to see. I met another ex colleague who now works for Ahrend but in Holland. Our last meeting was in court over an employment dispute but we are talking again. On next to Humanscale and it was good to experience the benefits of a healthy desk. Made me realize that my desk is sick and I need some ergonomic help.

Haworth was a revelation. Some of London’s iconic buildings redesigned and displayed on a huge blank canvass with a hint of Blue Peter materials plus an opportunity for the public to build and decorate their own abode using a set of flat pack homes. The finished work must have been impressive and indeed reflected the playful nature of the installation “Home Sweet Home”. Across the road to Sedus where there was a collaboration with Screen Solutions who were demonstrating the benefits of acoustic comfort. I chatted to Mark Stevens and the technology was equally at home outside an office environment. In restaurants and heavily populated settings where it is difficult to hear above the background noise there is an application to consider. This would be explored further at Kinnarps where a study looked at issues on sound and the elderly worker. My ears pricked up immediately.

The new Steelcase showroom and offices on Farringdon Road were impressive and I met another ex colleague who showed me around. There were a number of playful yet work related areas and I tried to record a Vox Pop on the office environment but my usual technical failing came to light. So on You Tube you may find some strange grunting and comments on which ******* button to press.

So now back into the Underground and off to Herman Miller. I hadn’t visited the new showroom before and a warm welcome was received. The most impressive environment so far and a great variety of interesting things to experience. The first of two Top Gear time trials during the day, this one to assemble a table. The leader board didn’t include “the Stig” but last place had a time of “Too Long”. The environment and saving our natural resources was a prominent topic with a bowl full of pledge cards, each one an action for you to help the environment. Mine seemed to be don’t wash my clothes for a month! As I had now visited the required number of showroom I was presented with my 2008 Designers Saturday poster of which a little more later.

Next stop was Kinnarps in Covent Garden. I had already partaken of some hospitality on route with a variety of tasty treats but non more appealing than the Swedish lunch table now on offer. I had to decline though but I must remember for next year. The Kinnarps showroom is rather like the Tardis (of which more later) and in a splendid area in the basement met up with Matthew Harrison. Matthew is working on a study for the RCA on how the workplaces need to adapt for an older workforce. Periods of lying down in quiet areas within the sound of a waterfall make perfect sense…..to those a little older than me you understand. On the previous subject of of background sound mentioned at Screenbase, it was interesting to find out that the older one becomes the more difficult it becomes to block out background noise and have a one to one conversation with someone. That’s why the young can still converse in these situations and the more mature feel left out. You can check this out at www.welcomingworkplace.com

A short walk over to KI for an appointment with the Doctor. The theme of time and space was illustrated cleverly by Dr Who and the Tardis (I did for a second consider asking to be taken back to 1966 so I could move the crossbar at Wembley down a couple of inches) and those unpleasant Dalek brothers, life size and fully working. The kids would have a great time avoiding being exterminated and the adult designers would no doubt respond well to the giant Jenga challenge. Some very interesting products on show particularly an electronic document monitoring system showing a great way to track the unofficial removal of files from buildings. Now perhaps the Government would be interested. Full marks to KI for their mini Rubik’s cube which proudly displays the BCFA logo. Thank you.

The final leg was to Bisley, by Taxi as the feet were playing up. Plenty of familiar faces here and the Top Gear Challenge had moved on to driving a Bisley articulated lorry and reversing into a loading bay. It was a remote controlled model but tricky none the less, particularly in the wet. Although during the whole day there was lots of excellent product to view none quite caught my attention like the new Bite mobile storage unit. Being a kind of “seen it all before” know it all, I am not easily impressed but I thought it was quite outstanding. Simple solution, very well engineered and it came from a design student project. Bravo.

A talk by Stephen Bayley, the founder of the Design Museum was entertaining. Key point? It was how celebrity reduced the meaningful contribution in a profession (cooks being a good example) and this included celebrity designers. Did he mean watch out for cases of “The Emperors New Clothes” Well, at the risk of being stoned to death I could perhaps just mention the traditional Designer Saturday poster, now a collectors item. The 2008 edition is very clever with GPS locations of participating showrooms plus brand logos printed white on white. I have to say I didn’t see it.

The event was great and well done to all those who put a huge amount of creativity and effort behind it.

Oh, I almost forgot. The original designer Saturday member was……..Herman Miller.

CCW