When it comes to shelving systems, it seems that horizontal is just so passé. At many of the larger events during the recent London Design Festival the stands featured open storage that made a feature of the diagonal and the curve. Several practitioners had stepped on to the eco band wagon by taking inspiration from trees, creating display spaces in the form of branches off a structure suggestive of a trunk, but Japanese designer Hiroshi Kawano, a graduate of interior architecture from Yokyo’s Tama Art University who has worked with French furniture company Ligne Roset, developed the theme with his Birdie shelf. Displayed at the Tent London exhibition, the wall-mounted piece would add wit and fun to a room, whether used individually or as a flock.

Meanwhile, at Designersblock, Belgium-based company Sixinch displayed its edgier response to the “flight from flat” movement. Created by Vienna-based designer Rainer Mutsch, Crash is an angular, free-standing unit that would add a sense of movement and energy to décor.