Chinese interior designers show flashes of quality but lack support

The well-worn phrase "Made in China" is becoming "Designed in China". And this time it was used for the Shenzhen pavilion at London's recent 100% Design show in the hope of rebranding as an important design destination the city once known as the "national factory of China".

100% Design, Britain's largest interior trade exhibition, attracted 30,000 visitors over four days last month. In the international hall accommodating the Shenzhen pavilion (organised by the Shenzhen Industrial Design Association, or SIDA), countries jostled for attention with interactive lighting and sophisticated displays of the latest designs.

The Shenzhen pavilion, however, was a subdued affair. Furniture was presented on white boxes and accompanied by descriptive labels that would have benefited from professional translation. Visitors were told of Shenzhen's manufacturing importance but not where design fits into this narrative.

If you looked past the presentation, some of the furniture pieces on display were interesting: The Riding Stool, by Jianmo Furniture Design, was a nostalgic nod at childhood games, and the Hair Pin chair, by Xiao Hedong, stood out for its elegant simplicity. But elsewhere you would have needed detective skills to discover the names behind the creations. For example, no one was credited for a beautifully crafted meditation chair, which referenced Chinese and Nordic aesthetics.