A sneaky peek into the Top Drawer

 In the lead up to the Cockpit Trail a number of our Cockpit makers are involved in fringe events. From 12-14 September the Grand Hall at Olympia will play host to Top Drawer - showcasing 700 British and International suppliers, displaying a wide range of design-led products for Christmas and beyond. This year, they have five easy-to-navigate zones Home, Gift, Fashion, Greetings & Stationery and Children's collections.

 Cockpit designer-makers including Allison Wiffen, Amanda Ross, Helen Minns, Lush, Thornback & Peel and SORT will be selling fresh, different, affordable and design-inspired gifts that will leave you wanting more! Here are some of the highlights:

 At D131 Thornback & Peel delight us with their intricate hand screen printed products for the home. Beautifully created, their range includes tea towels, napkins, aprons, cushions, T-shirts, bags and deckchairs. Often playful, their ideas allow fabrics to be created which are sometimes surreal, using a combination of geometric pattern with nineteenth century wood engravings. Thornback & Peels work celebrates the quirkiness of British humour and design. http://www.thornbackandpeel.co.uk

 The letterpress masters at SORT will be showing off their new graphic creations at part of 'Spotted" a special showcase at SP5. SORT (The Society of Revisionist Typographers) aim to preserve and revive the traditional forms of print-based graphic design that are often threatened with obsolescence. They specialise in letterpress printing and operate a private letterpress. Hand-making their own range of books, cards, stationary and ephemera. They also offer a print commissioning service. http://www.sortdesign.com

At A42A Lush will be showing its very desirable print lampshades, linens and china; design-led home wares and gifts featuring their own idiosyncratic illustrative designs. Lush are well known for their playful narrative themes depicting animal life, nature in the city and the mystery of vegetables. Their work has exquisite graphics, and is vibrant in colour. This year Lush will be showcasing their new London lampshade in cream and black, Their other new products include elegant pantomime cats, and a delicious new Raspberry design which will feature on a range of home-wares and textiles.! http://www.lushlampshades.co.uk

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See craft at its best this London Design Festival. Follow the Cockpit Trail to discover the festival's handmade highlights master-crafted by leading designer-makers from our incubators. Print out our map http://www.cockpitarts.com/docs/the-cockpit-trail.pdf and collect 5 stamps from the featured Cockpit designer-makers at the festival to get a free pass to our renowned Christmas Open Studios this year. On 26-28 November (Holborn) and 3-5 December (Deptford) - you can see behind the scenes and buy work direct from 165 leading designer-makers. www.cockpitarts.com