Filmed on location in Portugal, this film by Juriaan Booij captures the activity of the De La Espada factory.

This film by Building Pictures captures the assembly and finishing of the Twenty-Five Bedside, designed and crafted at the solar-powered De La Espada atelier in Portugal.

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Sela Chairs, designed by Luca Nichetto for De La Espada, celebrate traditional Portuguese craft. This film by Building Pictures captures the activities of the Sela Lusitana workshop in Leiria, Portugal, where expert saddlers handcraft the exquisite leather seat of the Sela Chair.

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In celebration of Portugal's rich craft heritage, select products by De La Espada Atelier incorporate accents of quintessential Portuguese craft in collaboration with local artisans. This film by Building Pictures captures the activities of the Viúva Lamego workshop in Sintra, Portugal, where the traditional “azulejo” tiles on the Twenty-Five Dining Table are made by hand.

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In celebration of Portugal's rich craft heritage, select De La Espada products incorporate accents of quintessential Portuguese craft in collaboration with local artisans. This film by Building Pictures captures the activities of the Fabricaal workshop in Reguengos de Monsaraz, Portugal, where the traditional Manta Alentejana textiles used to upholster special edition Capo Lounge Armchairs and Twenty-Five Armchairs are handwoven.

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In celebration of Portugal's rich craft heritage, select products by De La Espada Atelier incorporate accents of quintessential Portuguese craft in collaboration with local artisans. This film by Building Pictures captures the activities of the Toino Abel workshop in Alcobaça, Portugal, where the junco side panels of the Twenty-Five Bedside Table and Twenty-Five Bedside Chest are handwoven.

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This film by Building Pictures captures the assembly and finishing of the Twenty-Five Dining Chair designed by De La Espada Atelier and crafted at the De La Espada factory in Portugal.

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This film by Building Pictures captures the landscape within 20km of the De La Espada factory in Mira, Portugal, the environment that inspires the creativity of De La Espada.

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This film by Building Pictures captures the De La Espada Porto Residency. In response to the travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic, this residency welcomes visitors on a virtual exploration of the De La Espada lifestyle with furniture designed by Neri&Hu, Studioilse, Luca Nichetto, and Jason Miller set in a historic apartment at Palácio do Comércio renovated by Atelier in.vitro.

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In this film by Dutch filmmaker, Juriaan Booij, Matthew Hilton discusses his inspiration, love of photography, eponymous brand and relationship with De La Espada. Featuring rich colours, textures, and music, the film beautifully communicates Hilton's approach to industrial design.

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There’s an urgent crisis in design teaching in UK schools. Between 2014 and 2019 there has been a decline of 55% in students opting to take design and technology at GCSE level. This reflects a scene of diminished design teaching in UK schools over the last 20 years: down to funding cuts, and government policy that excludes art and design from the core subjects it believes every pupil should focus on. Soon we could see a generation of learners with no exposure to these subjects at all.

This lecture considers the consequences of this decline, and the various initiatives aiming to revive design teaching as a way to equip the next generation with the skills needed to address global problems. Using examples from the UK and abroad, it argues that revolutionised design teaching is not just about creating more designers in future (and more stuff), but creating a future society that is more resourceful, empathetic and collaborative – with an understanding of the value of hands-on making and fixing.

Riya Patel is curator of The Aram Gallery, an independent gallery in London dedicated to new and experimental design. She is a contributing editor at Icon magazine, and writes for several publications including Disegno, Wallpaper* and The Independent.

Design is dominated by white men. What does this say about bias and inaction? What does it say about the design world’s credo that it can understand and fix the problems of an increasingly diverse and international world? Sabine and her team at Zetteler have set out to address this imbalance with their initiative Design Can. The project is driving for positive change – for an inclusive design industry.

Sabine discusses the importance of inclusivity, and the tools needed to bring about change: research to highlight a problem, strength and dedication to take action, and a willingness to challenge deeply entrenched habits.

Sabine Zetteler is the founder of London-based communications agency Zetteler, which specialises in art and design. Offering services in PR, strategy and film, the agency focuses on bringing people together to create real, meaningful and lasting change.

The last decade has witnessed a significant resurgence in craft’s popularity, its ethical and honest credentials harnessed in everything from Turner-prize winning potters to craft beer, to brands parading their artisanal credentials. This is not craft’s first revival; from the Arts & Crafts movement to the 1960s and 1970s counterculture, industrial societies have turned to craft as a symbolically charged antidote to modern life. Yet craft has always had an issue staying in the mainstream: the economics of craft means it turns out to be for the few not the many. This is “the Morris problem”, a challenge that defines whether this is just a revival or whether craft is here to stay.

A design historian interested in socially and politically engaged approaches to design and design history, Catharine Rossi is a researcher, teacher and communicator spanning subjects from craft to nightclubs. She has curated projects at the Venice Architecture Biennale, Institute of Contemporary Arts, and Vitra Design Museum.

What are the invisible design and economic influences that structure society, change our minds, perpetuate unsustainability, and interact to create a future better than today? Explore the hidden side of materiality, culture, and the forces that make the world work in this cognitive adventure into systems, sustainability and design with UNEP Champion of the Earth, disrupter and sociologist Dr. Leyla Acaroglu.

An Australian designer, sustainability innovator, and educator, Leyla is the founder of two design agencies, Disrupt Design and Eco Innovators, as well as the UnSchool, an award-winning pop-up programme that disrupts the mainstream way that knowledge is gained and shared. She was 2016 UN Environment Champion of the Earth and has lectured at TED Talk events and Google.

A business with personality is rooted in its community, drawing upon its heritage but very much tied to the zeitgeist of the day. Jonas will discuss what makes his family firm a business with personality. He will connect the dots between the hidden factors in play when Brdr. Krüger evolves their heritage brand, bridging the past with the future as they maintain both their values and relevance. He will discuss how they embed storytelling and personality into the products that ultimately make them not only built to last, but designed to keep.

Jonas Krüger is the owner of Brdr. Krüger, a Danish woodworker with a passion for wood, crafting furniture and accessories since 1886. The company has worked with designers including Hans Bølling, Kay Bojesen, and OEO Studio, and sits at the heart of the Danish design industry.

Sometimes it feels like we live in unprecedented times. And yet the debates we are currently having around sustainable practices have taken place many times before. In moments like these museums become a great resource for accessing insights into how we lived, but they also offer suggestions for what we might do differently in the future.

Johanna Agerman Ross looks at the V&A collection and the stories it tells of the history of humanity’s concern (or lack of) with the environment.

Johanna Agerman Ross is the curator of Twentieth Century and Contemporary Furniture and Product Design at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. She is also the founder and director of the quarterly design journal Disegno.

Beatrice interrogates how genuine is our current infatuation with restoring some sort of higher, moral role to designers’ work within “society” and particularly how this truly affects/impacts/bends the rules of civic, economic or production ecosystems in terms of “scale.” While there is no shortage of individual initiatives and cultural advocacy for repositioning the resourcefulness of design towards a more conscientious deployment of its means to encourage inclusivity, sustainability and/or an optimisation of consumers’ attitudes, those that see themselves devoted to such causes often lament the difficulties this still presents in terms of scalability within the industry.

Beatrice Leanza is executive director of MAAT in Lisbon, and chief curator of the international research program “Across Chinese Cities” featured at the Venice Architecture Biennale. She is a creative director and co-founder of The Global School, China’s first independent institute dedicated to design and creative research, and B/Side Design, an organization developing strategies of urban and social impact in areas of socioeconomic transformation in China.

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A guide to maintaining De La Espada solid wood furniture with a Danish or white oil finish. Includes: Daily Cleaning 0:10 - 0:30; Applying Wax Refresher 0:30 - 3:06; Repairing Deep Scratches and Dents 3:06 - 4:20; Repairing Light Damage, Scratches and Stains 4:20 - 5:44

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:

It is advisable to wear gloves whilst applying wax. Waxy cloths can spontaneously combust if not disposed of properly. Immediately after use, place the waxy cloths in a clean airtight container filled to the top with water. Tightly close the lid. Dispose according to local regulations. NOTE: It is important that the cloth is fully submerged in water to prevent the chemical reaction that can occur when the waxy cloth is exposed to oxygen. Do not store wax near sources of extreme temperature. Do not take internally. Keep out of reach of children.

A guide to maintaining De La Espada solid wood furniture with a black oil finish. Includes: Daily Cleaning 0:15 - 0:35; Applying Black Oil 0:35 - 4:08; Repairing Light Damage, Scratches and Stains 4:08 - 4:55; Repairing Deep Scratches and Dents 4:55 - 6:11.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:

Always protect your hands with gloves when applying oil. Oily cloths can spontaneously combust if not disposed of properly. Immediately after use, place the oily cloths in a clean airtight container filled to the top with water. Tightly close the lid. Dispose according to local regulations. NOTE: It is important that the cloth is fully submerged in water to prevent the chemical reaction that can occur when the oily cloth is exposed to oxygen. Do not store oil near sources of extreme temperature. Do not take internally. Keep out of reach of children.