London Calling
For locals who live, breathe, and dream beautiful objects, this year’s New York Design Week is like manna from heaven: a citywide celebration packed with an unprecedented number of events, seminars, and workshops. Among the can’t-miss happenings is “London Underground,” Tom Dixon’s first-ever U.S. satellite show. The free exhibition transforms the basement of the Bleecker Street Theater (45 Bleecker St., nr. Lafayette St.; May 17-22) into a sixties Pop-inspired Luminosity installation, complete with a pop-up shop by Fab.com. The exhibition is part of design mag Sight Unseen’s Noho Design District events; check out the full lineup here.
Scout Your Next Sofa
Calling all interiors buffs: The 24th Annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair is nigh, and this year it features more than 500 exhibitors from 34 countries. Cutting-edge furniture, Über-modern carpet and flooring, whimsical lighting—you name it, this four-day trade show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (Eleventh Ave. at 38th St.) probably has it. Of course, that won’t do you any good if you’re not in the business, save for Tuesday, May 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when the ICFF opens its doors to the public. Tickets are $60 and can be purchased online.
Speech! Speech!
Also timed to NYDW is the second annual WantedDesign fair, running May 18 through 21 and featuring a stellar conversation series and design workshops. Join New York Magazine design editor Wendy Goodman on Sunday, May 20, at 4:30 p.m. at the Terminal Stores building (28th Street and Eleventh Avenue) for “desigNYC: Recharging Communities,” a Pecha Kucha–style presentation on some of the organization’s biggest collaborative undertakings. Goodman’s keynote address and the desigNYC presentations are free and will be followed by a panel discussion, raffle, and cocktails. The WantedDesign fair is free for design industry professionals and $25 for members of the public.
Lighten Up
The enLIGHTen Project, a fund-raiser gala slated for May 17, culminates an auction of goods from seventeen lighting designers, five photographers, and three indie design stores; proceeds benefit Kids of Kathmandu, a nonprofit organization that uses photography and art to raise awareness about the needs of orphans in Nepal. Funds raised tonight will go toward solar panels, lighting, batteries, solar lanterns, and a water-filtration system for an orphanage in Bhaktapur. Tickets can be purchased for $75 online or $90 at the door and grant attendees open-bar access; bidding ends at midnight.