John Pawson was born in 1949 in Halifax, Yorkshire. After a period in the family textile business he lived for a number of years in Japan, where he met the architect and designer Shiro Kuramata. Following his return to England, he enrolled at the Architecture Association in London, leaving to establish his own practice in 1981. Pawson’s work spans a wide range of scales and typologies, from a bridge across a lake and a flagship store for Calvin Klein, to ballet sets, yacht interiors, a new Cistercian monastery in Bohemia and houses in Europe, the US and Asia. He has been working on the remodelling of the former Commonwealth Institute in London, scheduled as a new permanent home for the Design Museum.

Sisters Gwendolyn and Guillane Kerschbaumer set up Atelier Areti in 2008 to focus on lighting, furniture and other designs related to interior architecture. Gwendolyn has a bachelor in visual arts from Duke University and a Masters in architecture from Harvard. Before setting up Atelier Areti she gained work experience at (among others) Peter Eisenman Architects, MVRDV, and Wiel Arets Architects. She was head of research at Harry Gugger’s group at the EPFL. Guillane has a degree in art history from the Sorbonne and a bachelor in product design from Central Saint Martins. She worked on several interior design projects prior to starting Areti.

For over 25 years the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has been at the forefront of international wood promotion, successfully building a distinctive and creative brand for U.S. hardwoods. AHEC’s global programme of activities secure a future for American hardwoods by demonstrating the performance and aesthetic potential of these sustainable materials, while providing valuable creative inspiration and technical advice.

Benchmark is a leading company of craftspeople and designers, founded 30 years ago by Sir Terence Conran and Sean Sutcliffe. Based in West Berkshire on a converted farm, the team is now 50 strong in over 40,000 sq ft of workshops for timber milling, carpentry, veneering, spraying, specialist metalworking and upholstery, as well as design studio and furniture showroom. Benchmark works extensively on design solutions for hotels, restaurants, public buildings, offices and private residences.

The London Design Festival was conceived by Sir John Sorrell and Ben Evans. Building on London's existing design activity, their concept was to create an annual event that would promote the city's creativity, drawing in the country's greatest thinkers, practitioners, retailers and educators to a deliver an unmissable celebration of design. First staged in 2003, the London Design Festival is now one of the world's most important annual design events. The estival programme is made up of over 300 events and exhibitions staged by hundreds of partner organisations across the design spectrum and from around the world.

The London Design Festival works closely with, and receives financial support directly from, the Mayor’s Office – having transferred support from the London Development Agency. The Festival also receives support from Arts Council England, as a National Portfolio Organisation 2012-15.

The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK's national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance.

James Latham

Morgan Timber