Obsessionistas curated the Midlands Design Archives zone, at Idea Birmingham's recent design expo 'Birmingham Made Me', representing a wide range of archival material from the individual collections of key British companies and organisations.
15 - 22 June 2012 The Mailbox, Birmingham B1 1XL
Idea Birmingham showcased the best creative design talent drawn from across the wider Midlands region. As the crucible of the industrial revolution, the area is rightfully proud of its unique heritage, boasting over three hundred years of world leading design and innovation.The Birmingham Made Me design expo, focused in and around The Mailbox (Birmingham, UK), embraced the typical local spirit of creative collaboration; mixing up world leading brands, established businesses, new emerging talent, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, social enterprises, retailers, government bodies, charities, schools and universities. The region’s default can-do attitude has always meant that inclusivity nurtures creativity and Idea Birmingham presents an exclusive opportunity to bring much of it together in one exciting event.
The expo ranged from exhibitions to installations, to talks and seminars, to private views and parties. The events were free of charge, enabling visitors to participate, learn, connect, network, commission and even buy things. The zones represented at the event were:
Interiors & Lifestyle, Design Archives, Entrepreneurs Store, Gamer Camp, Future Media & Cross Innovation, Architecture, Art & Visual Design, Fashion & Performance, Urban Living, Jewellery & Silversmithing, Automotive & Engineering, Cars, Tyres & Diggers.
Find out more about the Birmingham Made Me design expo here
Midlands Design Archives
A key element of the design expo was the Midlands Design Archives display in The Mailbox, curated by Obsessionistas. Highlighting the unique industrial and brand heritage of the Midlands region, our display represented some of the key archival material from 12 individual companies and 2 organisations; Acme Whistles, AGA Rangemaster, Brintons Carpets, Brooks England, Deakin and Francis, Denby, Jaguar, JCB, Laney Amplifiers, Library of Birmingham, Morgan Motor Company, Pashley Cycles, RIBA West Midlands and Triumph motorcycles. An illuminated map of Britain also helped remind visitors where each company or organisation is located within the Midlands region.
Each display featured between 20 and 30 digital archive images on a continous loop, revealing significant historic designs, innovations, patents, previous factories, buildings (along with workers), machinery, awards, associated famous people etc. Further supporting material could also be accessed from our complementary online resource via individual QR code links situated next to each display, allowing visitors to view more archival imagery and learn more about each featured collection.
The display proved popular with visitors keen to learn more about the region's unique industrial heritage.
Lord Digby Jones congratulating Graham on "A really great display!"
Helen and Graham from Obsessionistas in front of their display - awarded Best Overall Exhibit at the Birmingham Made Me awards ceremony.
"You've done a fantastic job!" - BBC's TV presenter Kay Alexander and Graham
"Midlands Design Archives - our special heritage"
Graham from Obsessionistas also helped launch the Birmingham Made Me design EXPO with a presentation (to an audience numbering around 100) celebrating the heritage of region's unique industrial past... along with the unique experiences gained and insights learnt from putting our design archives project together.
To find out more about how your company can get involved in future Design Archives projects contact: [email protected]
For all media enquiries and image requests please contact: [email protected]