David Village Lighting Trade in 2026, the year so far

This is a slightly different kind of post for the David Village Lighting blog. Most of the time, these pieces are written for customers choosing lighting for their homes, exploring new collections, designers, finishes, and practical product guidance. This update looks more closely at the trade side of DVL, but the two are closely connected.

The work we do with designers, architects, specifiers, brands, and manufacturers helps shape the product knowledge we bring to every conversation, whether it is for a residential customer, a private interior, a hospitality project, or a larger commercial scheme.

In 2026, our Trade team has been making a conscious effort to get closer to the spaces, people and conversations that shape project work. That has meant time in showrooms, at design fairs, on factory visits and with the brands behind the products we specify and supply.

For us, that time is important. It helps keep our advice grounded in what we have seen first-hand, from product details and finishes to availability, delivery, and how a fitting is likely to work within a real interior.

So far, the year has taken us from our base in Sheffield to London, Milan and Barcelona, with visits, events, and project-focused conversations forming a key part of how we continue to support the specification community.

Visiting Artemide in Milan

In March, members of our Business Development team travelled to Milan with a small group from Arup and Foster + Partners to visit Artemide HQ. It was our first time bringing clients to Artemide since David Village Lighting became the UK distribution channel for Artemide Architectural and Alphabet of Light.

The visit included time in Artemide’s exhibition space, factory, labs, and warehouse, giving the group a closer look at how the brand’s products are developed, tested, and brought into production. The first day focused mainly on the architectural collections, before the group visited Artemide’s flagship showroom in central Milan the following morning.

For our team, these visits make a real difference because they give us a better understanding of the products beyond the usual catalogues and specification sheets. Seeing how fittings are made, tested and installed, and being able to judge scale, finish and detail in person, gives us the kind of product knowledge that is much harder to build from images alone.

That first-hand understanding is what helps us give designers and specifiers more useful guidance when they are choosing products for live projects.

Barcelona with Marset and Vibia

Barcelona has been an important part of our Trade activity so far this year, with visits to both Marset and Vibia giving the team time with two brands that place a clear emphasis on product, space, and atmosphere.

These are not first-time visits for DVL. We have been fortunate to make similar trips with both brands before, each time with different client groups. The value comes from being able to share that experience directly with designers and specifiers, giving them time with the products, the spaces, and the people behind the collections.

At the end of March, Joe McKenna and Jack Spivey from DVL travelled to Barcelona with designers from 93FT, Isla James Interiors, Studio Mooch, and dMFK for a two-day visit hosted by Marset. The trip included visits to Casa SEAT and Fabrick Co-working Space, where Marset products could be seen in working interiors, followed by an architectural walking tour and dinner at El Cercle Restaurant.

The following morning was spent at Marset HQ, covering the brand’s office space, warehouse, manufacturing areas, and showroom. It gave the group a practical sense of Marset’s design and production process, as well as the chance to see a broad selection of the collection installed together.

DVL also joined Vibia in Barcelona for a separate visit with a group from Project Studio. The trip offered time across Vibia’s showroom and factory spaces, giving the group a closer look at how the brand presents its collections and how its products are developed, produced, and experienced in context. It also helped build a clearer understanding of Vibia’s balance of architectural, decorative, and technical lighting, and how its products are used to shape atmosphere within interiors.

Both visits gave the team more to bring back into project conversations, not just in terms of product knowledge, but in understanding how lighting sits within architecture, interiors, and the wider experience of a space.

Sponsoring the darc awards

In April, David Village Lighting attended the darc awards as one of this year’s sponsors, joining the lighting design community for an evening celebrating projects, products, events, and light art from across the industry.

As part of our sponsorship, we worked with Artemide and Foundry London on Peep Show, an interactive installation featuring Artemide’s Alphabet of Light. The piece explored the relationship between the visible effect of light and the technical structure behind it. From the outside, it appeared as a soft glowing column, while the viewing aperture revealed the concealed infrastructure inside, with exposed light, colour, mirrors, and repeated reflections.

It was a good example of what makes architectural lighting so interesting: the final effect matters, but so does the thinking, control, structure, and technical detail behind it.

Clerkenwell Design Week

In May, members of our Retail, Business Development, and Trade Sales teams spent three days at Clerkenwell Design Week, visiting showrooms, exhibitions, and installations across the festival.

Across the week, the team visited brands including Muuto, J. Adams & Co., Brokis, Bert Frank, BuzziSpace, Mater, Anour, Marset, nanimarquina, Ferm Living, Nordlux, a·emotional light, Abstracta, Tom Raffield, Frama, and Inform.

There were product previews, showroom visits, talks, and useful conversations across lighting, furniture, acoustics, materiality, exterior lighting, portable designs, and workplace-focused solutions. Particular highlights included Muuto’s Looped Wall and Ceiling Lamp, J. Adams & Co.’s new alabaster collection, Ferm Living’s Arum Swivel Wall Lamp, BuzziSpace acoustic lighting, Nordlux’s IP-rated Sidara exterior collection, and acoustic lighting from Abstracta.

Clerkenwell is always useful because it gives the team a broad view of what is being launched, how products are being presented, and what designers and brands are talking about across the wider interiors sector.

Coexistence and wider specification support

One of the most significant updates this year has been the next chapter for Coexistence. James Village, co-owner and Managing Director of David Village Lighting, has purchased Coexistence to run alongside DVL as a sister company.

This adds further support for furniture and accessory-led specification work in London and across the UK, broadening the conversations we can support across lighting, furniture, accessories and wider project requirements.

Coexistence has also been active at Clerkenwell Design Week this year, visiting more than 30 showrooms across the three days, including Bisley, Modus, Nowy Styl, Muuto, HAY and Ferm Living.

For trade clients, the connection between DVL and Coexistence creates a broader point of contact across specification work, while keeping the same independent, family-run approach that has shaped David Village Lighting.

What we are seeing on projects

So far this year, a lot of our Trade work has been around workplaces, hotels and airport lounges. Alongside those projects, we have had more detailed conversations about sustainability, technical suitability and exterior lighting, particularly where the brief needs fittings that are more considerate of the night sky.

These conversations tend to be more practical than simply choosing a product. We are usually looking at how a fitting fits into the wider project, whether it can arrive within the required timeframe, how it will perform once installed, and whether the technical detail properly supports the way the space will be used.

Looking ahead

There’s more planned for the rest of 2026. LiGHT26 is one of the main dates ahead, where we’ll be exhibiting with Artemide Architectural and sponsoring the bar. We’ll also be attending 3daysofdesign next month and are looking forward to seeing a range of new releases and showrooms, as well as a chance to catch up with brands and clients.

Alongside that, we’ll be continuing with brand visits, showroom time and project-led conversations, all of which help keep our Trade team close to new collections, technical updates and the wider specification market.

For customers who usually come to the DVL blog for residential lighting advice, the trade side of the business may not always be visible. But it plays an important role in how we build knowledge across the team. The more closely we work with brands, designers, architects, and manufacturers, the better placed we are to offer guidance that is practical, current, and grounded in real product understanding.