Unit.d is a new gallery for design, celebrating work made in batches or in big production runs, with a focus on everyday objects.
After 25 years working in the design industry, predominantly as a writer, but also as a strategist, creative director and content creator, Duncan Riches is opening a new gallery for design, based in Haggerston, East London.
The gallery is being launched with the express intention of showcasing work by London and UK based designers who are creating products made in small to medium size batches, or in big production runs.
There will be a focus on everyday objects and on things that function as part of our daily lives. The idea is to present and sell work that is accessible, useful and well-made.
Unit.d also intends to bring the design community together, holding an opening event on Wednesdays once a month, and being open daily for the following four days. There are so many wonderful people in the design industry, particularly in and around East London, that there seems to be a pressing need for a space to corral around, a place to celebrate work, each other, and share good ideas.
Unit.d will have a strong retail presence, working similarly to a design store on the days it is physically open, and having a fully fledged online store open all of the time. The idea is that the store will build up its collection of objects over time, selecting the best pieces from each show to continue selling online.
Ideally, after six months, the online store will have a collection of a dozen or so objects available for sale.
The gallery is a small rectangular white space with a high ceiling, a little bigger than a standard car garage. It is based on the ground floor of a factory building in Haggerston, which before it was converted into creative studios, was a sweatshop making clothes. The gallery has a steel roller shutter that opens onto a large car park undercroft space, ideal for an opening event, whatever the weather.
Unit.d will be open for one week, every four weeks. The other three weeks the space is occupied by an art gallery, called Terrace, that mostly showcases contemporary painters. The dates of the first six month of Unit.d shows are:
Wednesday Mar 11th to Sunday Mar 15th - Michael Marriott / Wood Metal Plastic
Wednesday Apr 8th to Sunday Apr 12th - TBA
Wednesday May 6th to Sunday May 10th - TBA
Wednesday June 3nd to Sunday June 7th - TBA
Wednesday July 1st to Sunday July 5th - TBA
Wednesday July 29th to Sunday August 2rd - TBA
The full six month programme will be announced on the opening of the Unit.d on the 11th of March.