Last night I had the absolute pleasure of spending an evening as a guest of Simon James Concept Store and The Department Store to listen to iconic British designer, Tom Dixon, in conversation with Home New Zealand editor, Jeremy Hansen.
Tom is in town to introduce his accessories range, Eclectic by Tom Dixon. He took us on his journey from ordinary guy with no formal training, to Tom Dixon, iconic designer, always in search of new ideas and improvements. He spoke of his ongoing battles to try to get ahead of the dreaded forgers, and how he works one shift a week as a sous-chef in a restaurant to truly understand how his products are used in the industry. Surprising? Absolutely! He was funny, incredibly engaging and certainly doesn’t take himself seriously.
I could imagine that if I were an aspiring designer, his story of perseverance would perhaps push me to keep going. As a lover of design, hearing his story and feeling his passion first hand has just put another angle on my admiration for this designer.
Eclectic by Tom Dixon has allowed him to play with materials and his ideas a little more freely than with the constraints of furniture and lighting. It also gives his fans the opportunity to experience his design intimately in their every day lives, from the fun to the more practical; but always within the form of beauty, and true to design.
My current favourites from the collection are:
The Form Bowls – an elegant cluster of dishes sculpted from fine sheets of brass and finished with a gold wash. The dishes feel surprisingly delicate and tactile and would be a beautiful way of presenting a meal to be shared.
The Bash Vessels are just as impressive. The brass has been shaped by hand into a crumpled form, making each of them unique, and then finished with a gold wash – simply exquisite.
The cutting boards in rectangle, paddle and long are each made from solid oak, with a soft curved edge, and finished with a brass logo. They are divinely simple and effective.
The Stone Candle Holder – minimalist in design – is carved from solid Morwad marble and can be used on both ends, cleverly catering for different candle sizes.
He also gave us a peek into his 2013 range that was previewed at Maison & Object, Paris in January. I look forward to seeing the new collection on our shores hopefully sometime soon, which includes a teapot, mortar and pestle in marble and a pepper grinder. On display for the evening from the 2013 collection; the Cell Tea Light Holder and Tool all digitally etched from a single sheet of brass, described as “items for the mathematics aficionado and precision draughtsman” and in Tom’s words, “to take people away from the dreaded computer”. I like his style!
If you’re in Auckland, you can view the Eclectic by Tom Dixon range at Simon James Concept store at The Department Store, Takapuna or their flagship store in Herne Bay.
8 Comments
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Pingback: Insta-Move Week | Armoire, Pegs and Casserole
A great review of what was obviously an amazing evening! Thanks for sharing – some fascinating facts there, especially his moonlighting as a sous chef! I have even more respect for him now! His designs are stunning. I especially love the brass and copper pieces and his eclectic candles are on my wishlist! x
@Catherine – it makes the difference doesn’t it?
@ Michelle – love the story about him working in the kitchen:)
I love that you said he is such a great person. What a wonderful evening and opportunity for you Mel.
What a fantastic evening Mel. He’ s an inspiring talent-such a huge success story. Great post and photography-lovely to share it with you xx
Thanks Caroline:) M x
Mel, what an event. I guess it must have been very interesting to see such a prolific designer in first row. The copper collection is allover the net and you can buy it over here in Department Stores such as La Rinascente in Milan. Love the last pic!
Hi Gudy, yes the first collection has been here for a while, the 2013 not, but I wonder if it’s out in Europe yet? He’s been doing the rounds of the world, Australasia no doubt the end of the tour. Really, I’m still pinching myself, the best part was that he seems like such a great guy. Mel x