The dog runs around the clock

Thursday night we’re at the design festival at Earls Court, I have my name badge: right name, right job title, different company, stuffed in my pocket. There’s so much to see here, a favourite being a clock which has silhouettes of trees and houses, a park bench and other daily life objects dotted around with three silhouetted figures, a dog, a woman and an old lady, who represent the seconds, minutes and hour hands. It’s kind of hard to tell the time but it just looks fantastic. The Japanese designer introduces himself and tells us of his concept. Check it out here. It’s great seeing someone doing something they believe in for a change and in Earls Court tonight it’s all around.

The designers sit at their stalls, some smile, some have the sales technique, others are shrinking violets hiding in the corner while your watchful eye glances, sometimes momentarily, over furniture, lamps, animal shaped clothes hooks, something they may have dedicated the last year of their lives to.

Everyone is dressed to the nines and I’m feeling slightly self-conscious in my anorak and jeans. It’s inspiring being here, you get a sense that there’s a lot of people here tonight starting out, young and hopeful, their aspirations and dreams intact and if they work at it and have a bit of luck then it’s all ahead of them. It’s like watching people at the starting line, but you have to focus because the dog is running around the clock fast.