Gary Drostle
MAKING SPACES RETURNS TO DECOREX 2026
EVENTS
Decorex returns to Olympia London this October, and once again, one of the fair's most anticipated corners will be Making Spaces, now in its fifth year. Fourteen artisans, chosen from more than 200 entries, will take over the programme from 11th to 14th October, each one bringing a craft worth slowing down for.
The selection process alone says a lot about what's on offer. The Making Spaces Committee, seven of the most respected names in UK craft and design, including Louisa Pacifico of Future Icons and Deborah Pocock, CEO of QEST, spent months narrowing the list down to this year's fourteen.
Louisa Boyd, Polychromatic Series
Julia Brière
"Making Spaces is now in its fifth consecutive year, and during this time it has grown hugely in popularity," says Sam Fisher, Decorex's Event Director. "It offers a rare opportunity for individual artisans to have a platform to demonstrate their skills and their work, develop relationships with designers, and connect with other craftspeople on an international scale."
Jarrad Belton
The range on show this year is wide. There's Jarrad Belton, who works sustainable timber into sculptural, nature-inspired pieces from his West Sussex workshop, and Gary Drostle, a mosaic artist with thirty years of experience who still works entirely by hand using traditional Roman hammer and hardie techniques, no machinery involved. Catharine Hammerton brings intricate botanical paper sculptures inspired by the Welsh countryside of her childhood, while Nowshin Prenon's handwoven textiles draw on her Bengali heritage, rich in colour and pattern.
Michèle Oberdieck's glasswork captures the quiet movement of botanical forms, Zoë Wilson carves geometric sculptures directly into British stone, and Matt Kavanagh turns fallen hardwood, collected from across London, into functional pieces that carry the memory of where they came from.
Zoë Wilson, All Four
It's not just a display. Several of the artisans will lead hands-on workshops throughout the fair, giving visitors the chance to learn directly from makers at the top of their craft, a rare opportunity to understand not just what these pieces are, but how they're made.
Helen Johannessen, Portal
Photo by Yeshen Venema
Megan Leech
Making Spaces sits alongside over 280 brands and a full programme of talks from industry leaders, making Decorex 2026 one of the more essential dates on the design calendar this autumn.
Registration is open now, with trade, consumer, student, and VIP tickets available. Visit here for the full programme and to book your place.
Eleanor Pickin, Whole Screen Ocean
