Design London not so slick, but it’s also not-for-profit

Regarding your Comment (DW 22 April) on the Design London stand at this year’s Milan Furniture Fair, Hidden Art [which staged Design London] is run by not-for-profit organisation Mazorca Projects, which aims to promote designers to set up a design business and to develop into a sustainable entity on their own or with manufacturers.

Our policy is to encourage and educate. We offer a Milan experience to many designers wishing to launch new products of a chosen standard, supporting their pursuits to have their designs manufactured, find distributors or secure commissions.

We aim to achieve the maximum using limited budgets via Government funding. We’d love to operate with the sort of budgets larger, more commercial organisations work with in order to offer a much grander, more sophisticated stand.

The launch last week of Creative London, backed by several influential organisations, serves to galvanise the momentum gathering in the industry to dismantle the barriers that hinder creative businesses from developing.

Its philosophy is to support shows like Design London rather than criticise and discourage their achievements.

London’s major advantage is its eclectic, bazaar-like mix of people, and what we believe is desirable to see coming out of the creative melting pot is not always going to obey the slick, corporate presentational style of the big Italian design companies.

In keeping with its multicultural, cosmopolitan blend of exhibitors, Design London aimed to do something different and its relaxed atmosphere was appreciated by the thousands of visitors.

Dieneke Ferguson

Chief executive

Mazorca Projects

London E2