For three days next week, Clerkenwell will be transformed into a hive of design activity from open showrooms to product launches, topical talks to hands on workshops

There are 15 main exhibition sites, ranging from Light, in the subterranean House of Detention, to British Collection in the atmospheric St James Church. Fortunately the bright pink CDW visitor trail will once again lead you from venue to venue so you wont get lost.

But as well as the exhibition venues there will be over 160 participating showrooms. Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else in the world, so you wont be short of things to see from tiles to lighting, furniture to bathroom fittings.

Once again I’m delighted to be taking part in Conversations at Clerkenwell, curated by Katie Richardson. For three days, lively panel discussions and focussed interviews will give us all food for thought. I’m interviewing the very talented and colourful designer Bethan Laura Wood at 2pm on Wednesday 23rd so if you are at CDW that day I hope to see you there.

With so much to see (and a lot of walking in between) it is good to know that there are plenty of cafes dotted around EC1. I tend to pop up to Exmouth Market, just above Design Fields, when I need to re-fuel. You can get a good coffee and usually find somewhere to sit.

Clerkenwell Design Week 2024 runs from 21 to 23 May. All visitors will require a badge to access the exhibition venues. You can register here