Unmissable events at London Design Festival

London Design Festival kicked off over the weekend at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London celebrating the best of British creativity and craft. With around 300 events taking place in venues all over the city, there is a lot to see and only 6 days left in which to do it. So where on earth do you start?

We thought we’d help you out by selecting a few of our favourites, starting with Amanda Levete Architect’s (aka AL_A) 12 m high swirling wooden lattice designed to stand outside the entrance to the V&A on Cromwell Road.

AL_A have teamed up with structural engineers Arup to create Timber Wave. The huge spiral structure is made from American red oak wood using traditional furniture-making techniques and will be particularly impressive in the evening when it'll be illuminated with lighting designed by SEAM Design. 

When you're in the V&A, head for the Power of Making exhibition in the Porter Gallery (September 6 - January 2). Curated by David Charny, the collection brings together over 100 wierd and wonderful hand-crafted objects and looks at the cool and imaginative ways materials and skill have come together, with fascinating results.

Shauna Richardson's Crochet Bear

Shauna Richardson’s Crochet Bear (image above) is just one of the stars of the show. Her ‘crochetdermy’ creations (Richardson coined the term herself referencing the taxidermy-like appearance of the works and her method of making) are made from wool and mohair and point to how endangered crochet has become as a craft.

You can also see Turner Prize nominee David Mach’s giant Gorilla made of coat hangers, the wig hairpiece Blond Lips worn by Lady Gaga in her Bad Romance music video and an uncannily realistic cake design in the shape of a new born baby... and there is plenty more where that came from.

Amusing and inspiring, this eclectic collection is unmissable, like most of the events taking place as part of London Design Festival, it's free.

For more information on London Design Festival events click here.