Sri Lanka Design Festival 2016 edition of Interior Design Exhibition opens

SLDF Interior Design Exhibition was launched last night setting the stage for the newest trends in furniture, homeware and lighting design amidst a gathering of architects, designers, hoteliers and media

Providing a much-needed platform dedicated to local interior design, Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF) annually presents a powerful platform for interior design and related industries in Sri Lanka. 

Parallel to its popular line-up of events that support the multibillion dollar fashion and apparel industry, SLDF has been hosting its Interior Design Exhibition aiming to raise the bar in local interior design and share the new innovations of the sector. This internationally curated exhibition was launched in the presence of architects, hoteliers, designers, real estate industry leaders, furniture retailers and media. It remains freely open to the public throughout the course of this weekend from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at SLECC. 

Parallel to the exhibition, SLDF Interior Design Edition also presents a free series of mini-conferences involving global speakers and local architects, in order to share new knowledge, education, fresh perspectives and new advances interior architectural design with the general public, students and young designers. All in all, SLDF Interior Design Edition presents a fantastic free opportunity for the general public to engage with new knowledge and new living ideals through interior design, throughout this weekend. 

Produced and curated benchmarking events like London Design Festival and Maison de Objet in Paris, SLDF Interior Design Exhibition brings together some of the country’s leading brands in homeware, furniture, colour, furnishing, product design lighting technology, colour, special finishes, porcelain/bathware, homeware, hotelware and fabrics. This vast collection has been individually curated into designer spaces and unique installations. 

Simultaneously, the exhibition is also a platform to visiting international designers, all united under the theme ‘Future Tropical Modernism’. The event production team has curated spaces by collating elements of tropical style with contemporary design with a mix of cold and warm materials, industrial and vegetation depicted through lighting, shadows and textures displaying major worldwide trends in interiors. SLDF Interior Design Exhibition is set to share a new living ideal from Sri Lanka, which characterises the spirit of the island within a contemporary context. 

The exhibition not only aims to inspire the general public and interior design/architecture students, but also provides a fantastic platform for those in the business such as property developers, design firms, architectural studios, real estate agencies and property owners looking for modern Sri Lankan design to meet designer studios, service providers, home brands and interior supply chain. 

Working with a mix of international and local creative production teams and collaborating with industry innovators like the Balmond Studio, SLDF has completely transformed its venue Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC) to create an altogether new experience. 

In addition to the exhibition, SLDF is also contributing to the growing body of interior design knowledge by hosting a mini-conference on interior design as part of its talk series ‘Design Katha’. The session features some remarkable speakers from both local and international industries such as James Balmond and Ali Mangera and is attracting an audience of design students, young educators and general interior enthusiasts. 

Sri Lanka Design Festival is extending an open invitation to the general public at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC) throughout this weekend 4, 5 and 6 November. Participants for the exhibition will be Raux Brothers, Fairway Holdings, Dulux, Anim8, Astoria, Swedish Trading, Clove Republic, Colours & Shades, Dankotuwa, Delmege, Don Carolis, Euro Pantry, Exel Holdings, Fine Furniture, JAT Holdings, Island Craft, Koncept Centro, Space & Lalin Design, Light & Shade, Masterpieces, MKM Luxe Suisse, Ranjana’s Ceramic and Techwood. 

The key apparel partners of the event include DIMO and AOD for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Runways, Coats Thread – Official Thread and Zip Partner, GT Nexus – Official Technology Partner, HNB Bank – Artisan Empowerment Partner, Mount Lavinia Hotel – Official Host, Wijeya Newspapers – Official Print Media, Just-Style – International Media Partner, Dialog – Official Telecommunications Partner, British Council – Knowledge Sharing Partner, Papyrus – Official Paper Partner, Anim8 – Official Print Partner, Free Lanka – Official Beverages Partner, Salon Kess and We Are Designers. The event is endorsed by the Joint Apparel Association Forum.

For more information, reach the SLDF Secretariat at 011 5867772/3 AOD - 29, Lauries Road, Colombo 4.