Discover the rising stars of the design world and who to watch now.
The world of design is a fast-moving, exciting place. While some trends persist - houseplants aren’t going away any time soon, and neither are open-plan spaces - things can shift quickly. Feeling like you’re stuck in a design rut? Needing a wealth of new inspiration for your beautiful new home, or looking to jazz up the spare room with some statement pieces?
Well, you’ve come to the right place! We’re looking at interior, lighting and furniture designers creating a buzz this year. Some similar themes emerge - a lot of designers are taking traditional ways of crafting and making, and bringing them into the 21st century, with innovative new ways of experimenting with form. From elegant minimalism to bold, wacky designs, there’s a lot to be excited about in the international world of design.
Put these new designers firmly on your radar - these are our 2022 designers to watch.
Christian Bense
A London-based interior designer who’s making waves in the design world, Christian worked with designers Turner Pocock, before forming his own studio in 2020. Christian hails from South Africa, and he completed his BA in Design there - bringing the ‘blank slate’ ethos of South African design to his British projects. Super contemporary in style, he combines his South African roots with traditional British design, creating a new and exciting look.
A recent project. Photo credit: Christian Bense
He uses vibrancy and colour in unexpected ways, such as this yellow and white chequered artwork, adding a brightness to the otherwise muted colour palette.
Another photograph from a recent project. Photo credit: Christian Bense
Christian also runs a design blog called ‘The Basic Principle’, offering a refreshing take on interior design, how to get the best out of trends, and advice on furnishings, fixtures and fittings. His take on design advice eliminates the fluff, focusing not on ‘hacks’ or tips, but instead on a holistic approach to decorating your home.
Christian's own flat is an ex-local-authority apartment on the fourth floor, transformed into a super-stylish South London pad. He’s used a mixture of high-end designers and high street homeware lines such as Zara to create a homely yet fashionable look. Below, the expensive marble table is paired with Zara dining room chairs, creating a ‘high-low’ look that’s strategic, and very 21st century.
Definitely one to watch - we’re excited to see what he does next!
bomma
j&t bank. Photo credit: bomma
Created in collaboration with Italian design curator Sophie Wannenes from PalermoUno, this Czech brand is taking traditional Bohemian glass and giving it a 21st century, ultra-modern update. They use state of the art technologies to create hand-blown crystal lighting in enormous sizes, for interiors and corporate clients.
These spectacular lighting installations range from smaller projects, such as the bespoke pendant lighting for a privately owned cabin in Norway, to huge-scale intricate works of art.
The glass itself is so textured it seems to undulate, creating a fluid and beautiful shape that you wouldn’t find in regular lighting.
Minimat Design
Omi D-3 chair. Photo credit: Minimat Design
This design and interior architecture studio was founded by Mini Shodeinde, a British Nigerian artist and designer. After studying interior architecture at university in Edinburgh, she set up her studio while still studying, creating innovative interior design projects, timeless sculptural furniture pieces, and lighting. Her furniture is all handmade by artisans in the UK, America, and North Africa, and her ‘Howard Desk’ has been on display at London’s Design Museum as part of their Discovered exhibition.
Her Omi D-3 chair is made of oil stained mahogany and nubuck. Mimicking the human form - and looking almost animalistic - the sleek lines of her furniture seem almost to defy gravity, with a stunning sense of originality and form.
Omi table. Photo credit: Minimat Design
The word ‘Omi’ is derived from the Yoruba word for water, and the piece channels the ever changing nature of the ocean’s surface. Hundreds of hand-sculpted mahogany veneers were layered, merged, and formed, emulating the ripple effect of a large wave. The stained glass top uses a radial gradient to mimic the motion of ripples when the ocean’s surface is disturbed.
Evgeniia Kazarezova
Starting her career as an architect and then as an interior designer, Evgeniia Kazarezova now works with clay, creating contemporary design objects with traditional methods of craftsmanship. Her creations are huge, tactile, and sensory, taking inspiration from the way clay has been used in different civilisations over thousands of years.
The Blooming Dome. Photo credit: Evgeniia Kazarezova
Her sculptural vase ‘The Blooming Dome’ was inspired by the beautiful chaos of nature, acting as a counterpoint to the obsession with control we have in our daily lives. As nature has no boundaries, she was inspired to surrender to the flow and think more fluidly. Kazarezova created a ‘Wearable Vase’ which recently won a Premiere Classe x Eyes on Talents Award in Paris - borrowing from traditional Slovakian craft to rethink the functions of the ceramic vessel.
Kazarezova was recently featured in Trendforecast 2022 by Elle Decoration Netherlands, and her designs have featured in Milan Design Week, Bratislava Design Week, and many other exhibitions since 2022. Definitely one to watch!
Estudio Persona
Founded by Jessie Young and Emilana Gomez, the pair worked in the film industry in their native Uruguay before moving to Los Angeles. Both originally from Montevideo, they moved to LA independently of each other, and became friends in a new city, away from home. Their designs are born out of a collaborative spirit and an urge to experiment with form and function: playing with light and dark, and with tension and rhythm.
Sustainability is very important to them, so all their innovative designs are made locally, using locally sourced materials.
Luna table lamp. Photo credit: Estudio Persona
Created from metal and hand blown glass, this lamp fuses bold spherical shapes with hard lines, taking inspiration from art and architecture.
H Chair. Photo credit: Estudio Persona
The H chair is made to order, upholstered in Maharam fabric in a deep olive green that’s very 2022. Their furniture and lighting celebrates simplicity, exploring design principles and movements, and offering a new lens through which to create.
Tantuvi
Tantuvi is the brainchild of American designer Arati Rao. Based in Brooklyn, she takes inspiration from family holidays to India to create her graphic rugs, Each rug is woven in India by families at home, weaving on a loom. Rao first visited the weaving communities in India in 2010, and that sparked the idea to create her own products in 2015 - she knows all the weavers she works with, ensuring their work and pay conditions are fair and sustainable.
The rugs are produced by seventh-generation master weavers, and no one is exactly alike. She’s not looking for perfect, factory-made symmetry in her textiles - instead, it’s about fluidity, graphic shapes, and vibrant blocks of colour. Rao plans to release a collection of outdoor furniture that’s created from recycled plastic, transformed into yarn.
Isabelle Lomas
Isabella Lomas is an emerging British interior designer, who set up her own studio in 2020. After studying textiles and fashion at Central St Martin’s, she landed an internship at Vogue, which she credits with helping her establish her individual outlook on design. She worked as a stylist for Vogue, before choosing to undertake a diploma at The Interior Design School and pursue her passion for interiors instead. Her ethos is all about beautiful, playful interiors, merging the classic and the contemporary to create something entirely new.
Photo credit: Isabelle Lomas
She’s worked with a number of high-profile clients within the design industry, including Soho House and Sarah Delaney.
Kouros Maghsoudi
Kouros Maghsoudi is a second generation Iranian American, born in the suburbs of Chicago. He launched his debut furniture collection for NYCxDESIGN Week in May 2021, inspired by sustainable architecture, his Iranian heritage, and urban design. He studied in Denmark, looking at sustainable Scandinavian design practices.
All of his pieces are inspired by his Iranian-American identity, and by Iranian culture and traditions. He integrates this through the messaging of his pieces, rather than using traditional Iranian motifs, shapes and silhouettes.
His Taarof table is inspired by the tradition of Taarof, a Persian philosophy of etiquette and generosity, and making sure your guests have the best experience possible.
The table - a modular cocktail table made from FSC certified plywood and MDF - has custom leg inserts, allowing you to include a fruit basket, an ice bucket, or a pewter ashtray for your guests.
His Neo-Lounge chair is made from hand-welded aluminium, offering a reaction against late 60s space-age design, which popularised unsustainable and mass-manufactured materials that are still widely used today. The glossy finish and seamless edges create the impression that the charge is made of plastic, when actually it’s formed from half a sheet of aluminium. Two chairs consume an entire sheet of aluminium, meaning there is less wastage. It’s a super innovative (and stylish) creation that makes an important point about sustainability.
Photo credit: Kouros Maghsoudi
We hope you enjoyed reading our guide to the top designers to watch. Let us know who is your favourite by tagging us on Facebook or Instagram.
