Decorex 2015 will open the London Design Festival with a host of new features:

Bert & May Spaces is using Decorex as the launchpad for the ‘bigger box’, part of its bespoke modular home range. Located at the entrance of the show, the box will sit within a meadow garden, created by Josh Chapman, finalist of this year’s RHS Young Gardener of the Year. (naturalkitchenschool.com)

Incorporating reclaimed materials, the box will be clad in weather barn oak with an eco-friendly green rood and wood-fired hot tub in matching reclaimed cladding.

Supporting The Campaign for Wool, Decorex has teamed up with Homes & Gardens UK to create a wool trail. Maps will be provided to visitors guiding them around the show highlighting the array of furniture, textiles and accessories made from this natural and sustainable material. There will be a flock of live sheep in the pen at the entrance from ‘The Little Grey Sheep Company’.

Described as “one of the hippest young florists in London and the unsung hero of floristry”, Hattie Fox of That Flower Shop has designed an impressive floral installation for the main entrance. Championing British seasonal flowers, Hattie Fox recreates the wild aesthetic of a British garden.

Four interactive feature areas, Making Luxury, celebrate the craftsmanship behind some of the UK’s much-loved products. Nic Webb will be carving a selection of art and design objects using axes, knives and gouges, see Volta’s highly skilled painters and decorators present its canvas technique for handpainted ceilings, de Gournay’s master painters will apply beautiful designs to wallpaper and its head porcelain artist demonstrates the art of painting and glazing, while The Gainsborough Silk Weaving Company offers visitors a glimpse into a design workshop and see artists reinterpret designs from its archive.

Fine Cell Work is the official charity partner of Decorex for the third year running and will be selling raffle tickets for its annual gem ring raffle on its stand C18. All proceeds from the raffle will support the activities of the charity, which supports prisoners to learn valuable craft skills to make a living.

Pursuing the concept of an ‘Anthology of British Craft’, The New Craftsman, in collaboration with House & Garden, will be transforming the VIP Lounge into a creative platform, highlighting the skills, materials and processes that make up craft across the British Isles. The space will explore different aspects of craftsmanship in thought provoking ways, from texture and pattern to form and finish.

Other highlights include: Giles Kime of Homes & Gardens in conversation with renowned interior designer Abigail Ahern as part of the seminar programme on the consumer day, Future Heritage – an installation highlighting the names to collect in contemporary British craft, and an exclusive collaboration with Material Lab on surface design.