Cool Hunting

As much as the London Design Festival promotes creativity in the UK, it’s also (obviously) a chance for new designers to raise their profile and attract investors. Marrying creative talent with retail, Cockpit Arts, London's mega-nonprofit offering designers affordable workspace and business support, has commissioned installations from two designers for the Canary Wharf Window Galleries, a busy shopping center located in London's burgeoning Docklands district.

Becky Oldfield, of Lost and Found Design, created a very British "Old Curiosity Shop" with a collection of furniture and curios featuring the Union Jack flag. Using a picture frame motif, passersby can look through to see different views of her installation. A few shops down, Linda Florence (featured here for her scratch-off wallpaper) also created windows within windows by layering her hand-printed wallpapers with round cut-outs that offer viewers a glimpse into the interior. The beautifully decorative prints and abstracted floral patterns seem to grow out of the window as they flow onto the floor of the gallery.