Design at Launch to Debut at New York Design Week

Smaller Objects is a new line by Claesson Koivisto Rune, an exhibitor slated for Design at Launch. Photo courtesy of arthitectural.com.

From May 15-17, a new highly curated contemporary furnishings show of about 30 brands, called

Design at Launch

, will make its debut in New York’s Grand Central Terminal. And if all the anticipated connection and engagement is realized—10,000 are expected to attend—visitors will be grateful for a bakery to be designed by Paris-based

Studio Norguet Design

.

The show, says creator Kara Tobin, was something the industry needed. She calls it “a highly curated contemporary furnishings platform for selected exhibitors to launch products, as well as a show where selected exhibitors and selective attendees will connect and engage.”

Tobin’s

Tobin and Tucker Group

, a public relations and marketing firm, will produce and direct Design at Launch. That includes vetting and selecting exhibitors. To be considered, a potential exhibitor must be launching new contemporary furnishings products in 2015—and be a producer of original, authentic design.

Exhibitor categories includes accessories, building products, flooring, materials, and wallcoverings. To be more specific, the likes of fabric maker

Bernhardt Textiles

and Swedish lighting company

Wästberg

will be part of this inaugural event (Tobin hopes it make it an annual occurance).

The show’s identity and campaign were created by

2X4

, a New York-based design consultant, and the entrance was created by

Gensler

, with

LG Hausys

, the industrial materials designer. The presentation areas were created by Swedish architecture and design firm

Claesson Koivisto Rune

.

“The show platform is unique,” says Tobin, citing the landmark venue. The 12,000-square-foot Vanderbilt Hall was built in 1913 as a waiting room and features five original gold chandeliers and Tennessee pink marble floors. Tobin also cites the public stage and the deliberate promotion of “exhibitors and attendees connecting and engaging.” It’s an event conceived as a universal connector between the very best established and emerging international companies and influential trade, press, and cognoscenti, says the website.

Registration will be posted later this month at

designatlaunch.com

.