Orchard Studio meets Hopetown

Designers, wannabe's, the style set and artists flocked to the East of the city last weekend for a chance to see a selection of Blighty's contemporary designers. Selected by Tent London and billed as: the best in contemporary and vintage design, architecture, interiors and the world of digital...

Sadly I missed the entire thing, putting three children to bed then dashing to catch the train to town, flying over London Bridge, down to Monument and then waiting for the one measly service London Underground had running, left me running up the stairs as the hordes poured down them.

Tent was held in London's Brick Lane, our own answering call to New Delhi, the long road is crammed full of Indian restaurants, sari shops, wholesalers of halal meat, Indian tooth powder, guavas, all kinds of chillies, chick peas and chapatis. It is a feast for the senses. Outside each restaurant a hawker prowls tirelessly, teasing you, tempting you in with the secret specialities his particular eating house serves. They endlessly out-bid each other up and down the street to snare a handful of the many, many Londoners who come to gorge themselves on the sub-continents finest take-out; taka dahl, sag aloo or jalfrazi.

Bath's answer to Eva Zeisel, Daniel O'Riordan from Orchard Studios swung into Tent with his striking collection of contemporary ceramics and furniture using amongst other simple textiles reclaimed rubber bands. Dan and his exclusive and bold range of stylish flat-pack chairs, low-hanging ceramic and rubber-band lamps received plenty of well-deserved attention from the press alongside many other of the Tent exhibitors.

Reclaimed, recycled and low-carbon products at the event made the greatest impact and rightly so and Orchard Studios is one to look out for.