The Colombo Design Market is all set to play out this weekend, February 22nd, at the Laksala Museum Gallery Cafe. Rishani has already covered it on our Events page, but we thought we’d talk a little more about it here. Consider this a sort of virtual tour.
The February Edition
We’ll start with the poster, by Rommel Arumugam, which looks amazing. The February edition is only their third gig ever but it looks to be a really good one.
What the heck’s a Design Market?: If you’re new to the Colombo Design Market – it’s basically a monthly event featuring the works of some of Colombo’s designers and artists. You can even get yourself on the list by paying for your stall, provided your work is original and interesting (Rs. 2800 for a 10×5 stall, and Rs. 4000 for 10×10). The organizers take none of the profit from sales, so it’s actually a great supporting platform for talented individuals who are just finding their feet.
Stalls
Fashion
Ky’s Closet
Cotton long skirts, tops, clothes in general (womens)
Minnie
Clothes, jewelry, prints, bags (mens and womens stuff)
Dodo Footwear
Mens shoes
Rocket Mou5
T-shirts (mens and womens)
Jewelry/Bags
Rice & Carry Bags
Bags made out of rice bags
Feather Project
Jewelry, some with stones, some with metal, some with feathers
Ninalu
Handmade minimalist jewelry
Gypzy Girl by Mickey
Jewelry with thread, beads, etc
Crafts/Home Decor
Happy Crafts
Knit toys, jewelry, etc
Monai
Paintings and home stuff
Shoelace Studio
String art and home stuff
Bathstore
Bathroom stuff
Art
Rommel Arumugam
Designer and Illustrator extraordinaire
Shifani Reffai
(AKA me! Yes, some of you food-nazis can come confront me at my stall.)
Minal Naomi
Design student. Doodles, prints and other art.
Also, Kamila Nizar, Sashees Gallery, etc.
Etc
You can also find Bang Bang who hosted a clay art workshop at the December CDM, Thilina of the Astronomical Association with his telescope and more.
Food
- Brownies by Skrumptious
- Healthy fruity juices and stuff by Life Food
- Saffron Persian Delights of Good Market fame
- Island Bagels
- Jeewa’s Polos and Kuma’s Natural Foods
- Coco Ceylon
- Mango & Company
Events
Poetry
Colombo Poets is a bunch of people who hang out every now and then in coffee shops for poetry slam sessions. If you’re into this and a bit of music to go with, Shabeeb, Mishal, Nalantha, Nabaha and Stefan will be performing at the CDM as well.
Pecha Kucha
Pecha Kucha is an international movement of forum discussions, which started in Tokyo, Japan – basically, it’s the TEDx of designers – and we’ve had three Pecha Kuchas in Colombo so far. The 4th will be at the Colombo Design Market, at 4PM. It will feature instagram guru Abdul Halik Azeez , photographer Luka Alagiyawanna , artists Kavan Balasuriya and Ryan Wijayaratne , and one of my favourite illustrators Rommel Arumugam . Pecha Kucha, meaning ‘chit chat’ in Japanese, allows its presenters to show off 20 slides at 20 seconds each. This instalment will let you learn from successful artists and designers first-hand, which is a big deal I think, in Colombo’s fragmented sort of art scene.
So What?
So, the Colombo Design Market is a pretty happening place to be this weekend. Even if you don’t like hipsters and the occasional randomness of art projects (someone from our office tells us he saw an ‘art project’ last CDM which was basically an empty stall with a ceiling made of crappy kites), you’re still bound to see and hear some interesting things (like the coloured toilet paper from last time!), especially given Pecha Kucha’s involvement. Either way, your presence and purchases at the CDM will support some of our local artists.
Where: Laksala Museum, Nelum Pokuna Mawatha, Colombo 7
When: 10AM to 6PM
Contact: 0779 425 570
Event Pages: Colombo Design Market , Pecha Kucha
