Afternoon Light Builds a Stylish New Anchor Fair for NYCxDesign
The next evolution of Shelter transforms two sunlit floors of Lower Manhattan’s WSA Building into a bustling showcase of collectible furnishings, international debuts, and immersive installations from more than 75 brands and designers
Deirdre Maloney and Minya Quirk know a thing or two about design fairs. During their years in fashion, the longtime business partners grew frustrated by how difficult it had become to discover compelling brands amid the sameness of conventional trade shows. They eventually co-founded Shoppe Object, the influential homewares and gift fair with editions in New York and High Point, North Carolina, before expanding into Afternoon Light, the curated e-commerce destination devoted to home decor and furnishings. Then came Shelter, the buzzy design fair that dominated conversation at last year’s NYCxDesign. Staged as an immersive marketplace for thoughtfully selected furniture, lighting, and collectible works across a broad range of price points, the event invited visitors to browse, discover, and purchase directly from the source.
Shelter distinguished itself by sidestepping the stale formulas of traditional trade fairs, drawing audiences far beyond the usual design-week circuit. The strong response affirmed Quirk and Maloney’s belief that New York could accommodate a culturally minded mid-size fair with broader appeal. They brought those lessons into Afternoon Light Design Fair, the next evolution of Shelter, now open at the WSA Building in the Financial District through Tuesday, May 19. “When we started the fair, we saw enormous momentum around New York Design Week, but no mid-size event that truly brought it together,” Quirk tells Galerie. “Since then, the enthusiasm for a premium anchor event has only grown.”
Much of the inaugural edition’s appeal remains intact, including its tightly curated roster of over 75 participants. The organizers continue to place independent designers like Ben Willett, Sam Klemick, and Sara Schoenberger alongside established names like Anglepoise and Resource Furniture, encouraging visitors to move fluidly between emerging talent and industry heavyweights. Many exhibitors have embraced unconventional presentations. Carl Hansen & Søn has returned with live demonstrations revealing the intricate weaving techniques behind the Scandi brand’s furnishings. USM partnered with Symbol Audio to introduce the USM Haller Soft Panel, its first-ever soft product, in a music-infused installation outfitted like a moody listening lounge. “There’s something exciting about heritage brands showing alongside emerging studios on equal footing,” Quirk continues, noting the balance is central to the fair’s identity. “The larger companies want to discover new talent, and younger designers benefit from trade exposure.”
They’re likely to find it. NYCxDesign draws well over 170,000 visitors across hundreds of events citywide, and the WSA Building’s central location places the fair within reach of major subway lines, ferry terminals, and several official NYCxDesign activations. “What drew us to the WSA was the creative culture already built into the building,” Maloney explains. “We wanted a venue that already had the kind of energy and audience we hoped to attract.” Spread across two sunlit floors wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows, the fair commands sweeping views of the East River, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the stately stone towers that line Lower Manhattan’s winding streets.
The swath of independent designers alone warrant the trip downtown. Surprising discoveries appear throughout the fair, particularly among international brands using Afternoon Light as a launchpad into the American market. Australian hardware company ZETR partnered with Flack Studio on an eye-catching presentation illuminated by lighting from Volker Haug, showcasing the breadth of the brand’s sleek electrical systems and metal finishes. Dutch tile studio Palet took a similar ambitious approach, mounting an installation built entirely from its modular ceramic tiles. Repeating grids of glazed tiles ripple across surfaces in shifting tonal variations, demonstrating how a single component can expand into more architectural compositions. Pern Baan, the Thai-American furniture and lighting brand launched by designer Robert Sukrachand, presents a ceramic lighting and table collection by Christopher Merchant in finishes that range from chalky bone to saturated cobalt and earthy ochre.
“Demand from the U.S. has been building, and we already have a few early projects underway here, so Afternoon Light felt like the right moment to introduce Palet to the American design community in person,” Niels Monsieurs, Palet’s head of business, tells Galerie. “The fair’s focus on light and slower, more immersive experiences sits very closely with how our tiles are meant to be encountered, and WSA gives us the kind of architectural setting where the system can really come to life at scale.”
Quirk and Maloney relied heavily on instinct when they launched Shelter last year, and that intuition continues to pay off. Energy was high through the VIP preview on Saturday evening as designers, editors, buyers, and tastemakers drifted between installations, cocktail in hand, taking stock of the fair’s evolving atmosphere. Even with two floors at their disposal, the founders admitted they still ran out of room, forcing them to forgo a planned talks program this year. Yet the fair’s growing pains also signal mounting demand and expanding ambition. “We’re building something that serves the design industry at the highest level,” Maloney says. “A place where business happens, ideas cross-pollinate, and the best of what’s new gets its moment.”