23 September 2011

MY LONDON – Established & Sons

Ben Morgan takes a look at Established & Sons MY LONDON campaign, kicking off with an installation by Japan’s Nendo and the release of their new catalogue.

As part of the London Design Festival, Established & Sons have partnered with Japanese designers and architects Nendo, with an installation capturing their interpretation and perception of 'MY LONDON', coinciding with the launch of the Established & Sons No.7 catalogue.

Creating the first installation in a series, Nendo chose to focus on that most iconic of British elements: fog.

Thousands of small, crumbled squares of semi-opaque paper have been stuck to the walls of the exhibition space at Established & Sons HQ, mimicking thick fog.

"MY LONDON has come from standing back, looking at the brand and identifying what outside perceptions is of Established & Sons and what do we do as a brand," says Director, Sebastian Wrong. "Something that is very, very clear is that we are based in London, we are Londoners. What is that London identity and how can it be communicated as a message, a visual message and also text?

"That was really the impetus to the catalogue; we wanted to put more emotion into it, more engagement with humans, so there are people in the catalogue, whereas before there never have been, it's always been very much a studio environment where the pieces were shot."

Rather than looking at British culture, or British identity, MY LONDON looks at the extremely diverse nature of London as a global city, giving context to the varied pieces Established & Sons offer.

The beautifully photographed catalogue shows the products in well-known, yet not necessarily iconic, London locations.

There will be a number of ongoing activities and projects around the MY LONDON theme.

The latest products from the UK brand are also on show at Established & Sons' East End headquarters, including additions to their lighting range such as the 'Topp' lamp by Hallgeir Homstvedt Design and the new 'Torch' pendant; emphasising the brand's new focus on their lighting portfolio.