Tom Dixon (industrial designer)

Tom Dixon was the bass guitarist in the band Funkapolitan. In 1981 the band supported The Clash on their US Tour^[1][2] and appeared on Top of the Pops.^[3] A series of motorbike accidents and a broken arm led Tom to experiment with welding and designing products in this way.^[4] Dixon rose to prominence in the mid-1980s as “the talented untrained designer with a line in welded salvage furniture". He set up ‘Space’ as a creative think-tank and shop front for himself and other young designers such as Michael Young, Thomas Heatherwick, and Michael Anastassiades–all of whom worked with Dixon during this period.^[5][6]

By the late 1980s, he was collaborating with Italian design impresario Giulio Cappellini, whose company manufactures and distributes designs such as Dixon's S-Chair.^[7][8]

 

In the 1990s, he became a household name with Jack, a polyethylene "sitting, stacking, lighting thing" designed for his company Eurolounge.^[9][10] In 1993 he participated in the ″greatest exhibition of British furniture design of the 20th century″, organized by Helmut Diez in Bremerhaven, Germany.^[11]

In 1998 Dixon was appointed head of design by Habitat and later became Creative Director until 2008. He was the public face of a collective team responsible for rejuvenating the Habitat brand.^[9]

In 2002 Dixon established his brand under the name "Tom Dixon".^[12] The company is based in Kings Cross, London. In 2004 Proventus, a Swedish-based private investment company, teamed up with Tom Dixon to establish Design Research, a design and product development holding company.^[13] The Tom Dixon brand launches new lighting and furniture collections bi-annually at the Milan international furniture fair and at London Design Festival.^{[citation needed]} In 2012 the company launched its first accessories range at Maison et Objet, Paris. The company's products are sold internationally in 65 countries.^{[citation needed]}

 

 

In 2007 Dixon launched Design Research Studio, an interior and architectural design studio. High-profile projects include Restaurant at The Royal Academy in London,^[14] Jamie Oliver’s London restaurant, Barbecoa^[15] as well as Shoreditch House.^[16] Most recently Design Research Studio announced their first ever hotel project, redesigning the iconic Thames-side Sea Containers House in collaboration with US hotel giant Morgans Hotel Group Completed summer 2014.^[17] In 2016, Dixon collaborated with Revolution Precrafted to design a prefabricated house named HOME.^[18]

In 2017, the Tom Dixon brand launched its first textile collection Super Texture, which features three sets of cushions. Josephine Ortega,^[19] a young British textile artist, was commissioned to create two of the three cushions – Paint and Abstract. The two urban-inspired sets incorporate bright colors with varying textures. The third set of cushions, Geo, resembles layered rocks and sediment with embroidery by hand and machine.^[20]

His work is included in collections such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the National Museums Liverpool in the UK; the Vitra Design Museumin Germany, M+ in Hong Kong; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and New York's Museum of Modern Art in the US.^{[21][22][23][24][25][26]}

Dixon holds Honorary Doctorates from Birmingham City University (2004) ^[27] and University of the Arts London (2007).^[28]

In 2001 he was appointed an OBE for services to British Design.^[27]

• The Interior World of Tom Dixon (2008) Octopus Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-84091-519-8, ISBN 978-1-84091-519-8
• Dixonary (2013) Violette Editions. ISBN 978-1-900828-42-0

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tom Dixon.

• Official website