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Brooklyn Designs Breaks Attendance Record

Seventy exhibitors displayed their wares over four show venues.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 5/30/2008 12:00:00 AM

New York's bridges and tunnels saw their share of design lovers the weekend of May 9-11 as a record 6,500 attendees converged in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood for the sixth annual BKLYN Designs furnishings, lighting, and accessories exhibition.

Presented by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to kick off New York Design Week, the show featured 70 exhibitors spread over four venues: St. Ann's Warehouse, Smack Mellon, Dumbo Arts Center, and the BD+ Accessories Market in the Tobacco Warehouse in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park.

"This year's record-topping number of exhibitors and visitors to BKLYN Designs demonstrates the excitement and interest in the borough's creative community," says Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Carl Hum. "The expansion to four venues, the growth of BD+, the design accessories market, and the assembly of thought-provoking panels offered something for everyone."

The organizers kept green design at the forefront by hosting participants exhibiting eco-friendly designs, including manufacturer Uhuru's KUPE line of furniture, made from recycled whiskey barrels, and designer Nicholas Furrow's custom lighting, showcased in pods made from salvaged records and their jackets

Taking a bow at the show were three Pratt Institute students -- Ian Collings, Gregory Buntain, and Robert Volek -- who each received the Young Designer Award, an honor cosponsored by the design school and retailer Design Within Reach. The students' work will be displayed at the Brooklyn Heights DWR for a month following the show. Buntain also won the Target Design Award for his ready-to-assemble Intension table. The newly-launched award, open to all show exhibitors, includes an invitation to join an assembly of national designers in an event at the Cooper Hewitt during National Design Week in October.

In addition, BKLYN Designs played host to the Target-sponsored Speaker Series of lectures and seminars. Designer Sami Hayek, who just launched a home collection with the retailer, delivered the keynote speech about transitioning his design process from luxury to mass goods, while Interior Design contributor Julie Taraska chatted with Pratt Institute alumni for an update on how they are making their mark on the design world -- something BKLYN Designs organizers can obviously relate to.

From top: Some of Brooklyn Designs 6,500 attendees. Uhuru's Kupe line of furniture is made from recycled whiskey barrels from Kentucky.

Images courtesy of Ann Billingsley