Future Matter is a curated exhibition presented as part of London Design Festival 2026, exploring sustainable material futures through contemporary design, craft, textiles, innovative products, and research-led practices.

Organised by Nest – A Lab, the exhibition brings together Abe Yantin, Aleksandra Tarnowska, Andrea Dritschel, Anna-Maria Stavreva, Can-Fen Wang, Junghyun Kim, Margo Misiak-Orlovic, Tom Blackmore, and YouJin Seo, whose practices explore circular materials, responsible production, speculative design, traditional craftsmanship, urban mining, and experimental material research.

Taking the object as a connecting thread, Future Matter follows different stages of an object’s journey, from material collection and sourcing, through material development and experimentation, to product design, making, craftsmanship, and everyday use. Through home objects, wearable objects, installations, material samples, prototypes, and research, the exhibition brings together diverse perspectives on how materials can be collected, transformed, designed, and crafted in response to environmental challenges.

At Future Matter I will be showing Kyanite and Albite, a pair of rings carved from ruby bearing host rock in which the embedded rubies have been coaxed to grow larger within a studio based, low temperature growth environment. The work forms part of Neo-gemstones, my ongoing research into crystal growth as a creative technique for jewellery designers rather than only an industrial one. I will also be giving an artist talk on 12 September at 16:30, discussing the piece and the questions it raises about size, origin and the slow story of how a gemstone comes to grow, this is followed by an Opening Reception from 18:00–21:00.

Curated by Emma (Xinyan) Gu, with academic guidance from Dr. Sofie Boons, whose research and material practice are also represented in the exhibition.

Opening times: 12 September: 11:00 - 21:00, 13 September: 11:00 - 17:00, 14 September 11:00 - 17:00. Admission is free and open to the public. 

Address: The Handbag Factory, Gallery 1, 3 Loughborough Street, London SE11 5RB

More information here. 

The German Ecodesign Award honours designers, companies and students from Germany and Europe whose work make an important contribution to the sustainable transformation of our economy and society. The award has been granted annually since 2012 by the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the German Environment Agency in cooperation with the International Design Center Berlin.

In the annual exhibition at the Metropolenhaus, all participating projects that have passed the pre-evaluation by the expert panel and that are admitted to the jury session can be seen. After the jury has reviewed the entries, the exhibition is opened to the public. Also in 2025, following the jury session, it is planned to present the exhibition in the rooms of feldfünf in the Metropolenhaus.

At the German Ecodesign Award exhibition, visitors can see a selection of my Neo-gemstones® research. The work grows sapphire and ruby crystals directly within recycled platinum settings, using seed crystals recovered from urban mined waste and low temperature, low energy studio processes rather than mining or industrial lab growth. On show are rings and earrings that carry raw, uncut crystal growth as part of their finished form, offering a traceable and ethical alternative within the sustainable transformation of jewellery.

Opening times: 19-22 September. Saturday and Sunday: 12:00 - 16:00 and Monday and Tuesday: 12:00 - 20:00

Address: feldfünf, Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelsohn-Platz 7-8, 10969 Berlin

More information here. 

Romanian Jewellery Week is the largest international event organized in Romania dedicated to contemporary jewelry, organized by Assamblage National Jewelry Association since 2020.  The format of event includes each year a large area of exhibitions, fairs, conferences, workshops, seminars and guided tours, with one main location as well as connex locations. The Romanian Jewelry Week awards are designated by an international jury board, as well as special awards each year by official partners.

The seven edition of Romanian Jewelry Week is set to take place between the 30 Sept - 4th of October 2026.

At Romanian Jewellery Week I will be presenting a talk on my PhD research, Neo-gemstones®: An Alchemical Jeweller's Exploration of Lab Grown Crystals and Related Technologies, tracing why innovation in man made crystal materials has remained rare within jewellery and proposing new terminology for this creative territory. Alongside urban mined lab grown waste stones, visitors can also expect to hear about my collaboration with BREVALOR on BRG, the world's first glow in the dark gemstone material, and how crystal growth technologies can be built directly into a jeweller's own practice. I will also be exhibiting a selection of pieces.

Address: National Library of Romania, Bucharest

More information here. 

MAKING IT 2027 is a major biennial exhibition celebrating emerging artists, makers and designers from across the Southwest. Hosted in the prestigious Jubilee Gallery at MAKE Southwest from 16 January – 17 April 2027, the exhibition will showcase up to 20 early-career creatives working across contemporary craft and making, from traditional materials and techniques to digital practices such as photography, film and print.

The 2027 edition explores the theme “The Maker’s Journey”, inviting applicants to reflect on aspects such as innovation in materials and techniques, sustainability, diversity, and collaboration within their practice.

Making It gives me a platform to share Neo-gemstones with a wider craft audience, presenting the low temperature crystal growth technique I have developed as both a body of work and an open method other makers can explore. Visitors can expect to see rubies and sapphires grown in situ within and onto metal structures, where material behaviour, time and environment shape each unique, naturally faceted outcome. The work sits within the exhibition's theme of The Maker's Journey, reflecting on how a largely industrial technology can become an accessible, small scale craft practice.

Opening times: Tuesdays - Saturdays, 10am - 5pm.

Address: Riverside Mill, Fore Street, Bovey Tracey, Devon, TQ13 9AF

More information here. 

On Friday 11 September I will be delivering a lecture for the Cheltenham Mineral and Geological Society at 7:30pm at their Shurdington Venue. Current members and anyone wanting to join (and use their free pass) are welcome to come along for this talk about a subject which graced the pages of major news platforms across the world.

With crystal growing techniques having been around since the 19th century, man-made crystals now drive innovations in various industries. This has, however, not fully translated into the jewellery industry, where they continue to be the subject of great debate. The lecture will provide an overview of Sofie Boons’ PhD research titled ‘Neo-gemstones: An Alchemical Jeweller’s Exploration of Lab-grown Crystals and Related Technologies, Proposing Innovations Whilst Challenging Context, Terminology, and Underlying Assumptions’.

Address: Millenium Hall, Shurdington GL51 4UR