Bklyn Designs boasts innovative exhibitors

A weekend of fun, design, innovation and all things Brooklyn awaited those in attendance at Bklyn Designs, a three-day design event – held from May 6 to  8 – founded by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in an effort to spotlight the borough’s flourishing art, architecture and design markets.

The Brooklyn Expo Center (72 Noble Street) was the backdrop for the anticipated design showcase, featuring some of the borough’s best furniture, lighting and home accessories, all packed into three days of collective exhibits, pop-up lounges, installations, hands-on demos and conferences.

The appeal of the juried exhibition is that all of exhibitors make or design their products in the borough.

“It’s a growing industry in Brooklyn and we are showcasing makers that are actually making their products in Brooklyn,” said Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carlo Scissura. “It’s an opportunity for them to meet press, to meet buyers from different stores across the world and then to meet consumers, [so they can sell] their goods and really showcase the excitement of ‘made in Brooklyn,’ which is what this is all about.”

Along with the exhibition, Bklyn Designs boasted a hefty lineup of programming including a CEU-accredited course on color with Benjamin Moore; 10 panel discussions on interior design, architecture, fabrication, sustainability, virtual reality and art collecting; workshops on drawing, illustration, 3D printing, tapestry weaving, screen printing and macramé; on-site consultations and designer portfolio reviews; and chef demos and satellite talks on living, designing and entertaining.

While the event is focused on getting the names of  Brooklyn designers out there, more than one are about giving back to the community they started in. Legion Lighting for instance, in a collaboration with Smash Industries, was exhibiting its their Artisan Series Subway Car Lighting fixtures – detailed, one-of-a-kind train models designed by Brooklyn artists.

“We put them in the hands of artists and they can pretty much do whatever they want with them,” a representative for the series said. “They can resell them, or, we have a program called trains for gains where we give a portion of the profit to the neighborhood.”

This year’s other exhibitors included Evan Z. Crane, Naula, Pezzi, Zieba New York, Lisa Levy Industries, Come out to the Coast, Mark Jupiter, Wax Rax, Talbot & Yoon, CBR Studio and more.