London Design Festival #part 1 For one week in September London turns into a beehive of design activity. Hundreds of designers from all over the world come to the capital city to showcase their work, and I went to explore three of the biggest shows - 100% Design, Tent, and Design Junction.

First up was 100% Design which took place in Earls Court - a huge show spanning across areas including interiors, eco-design and kitchens & bathrooms. One of the main exhibits was 'The Home Factory', a space exploring 3D printing. Now...I'm not sure if you're like me and have no idea how this technology works and its place in the future other than for novelty value? But after a chat with Daniel from 3D printing store iMakr, I get it.

Daniel from iMakr with a 3D printed Einstein head

First of all, there are about 10 materials that are currently used to print in 3D including metal, plastic, ceramic, resin and nylon. They go through a printer like this...

This one is printing a little white cube. Stages to make a 3D object are 4-fold: Scanning, Design, Printing, Finishing.

These cutlery and shoes are all made using 3D printers...glued together in parts. Pretty amazing no?

One of the pulls of the 3D area was the 'mini-me' booth where you could step inside the booth below where 45 cameras simultaneously take a photo to make a tiny coloured 3D model of you:

Now used for what seems like *novelty* value - exploration of 3D printing for *necessity* is in the pipeline with scientists looking at printing food for NASA and also human organs... welcome to the future!

One of the designers in the 'Emerging Brands' section was Lorna Syson, home and interior textile designer:

"My patterns are inspired by the British countryside, landscapes and seascapes - my new print is called Warwick. I think it's important for people to feel a connection in design, so each piece comes with a story on a string tag."

James Smith Designs was also in Emerging Brands showcasing his willow lights:

And this corner was a goldy delight for magpies...

Take a look HERE at the video the very talented film guys we were with made at 100% Design for ACHICA!