Devotion to design: Tom Dixon in Berlin

At the dawn of Berlin Design Week, we spoke with British designer par excellence Tom Dixon and asked him a few questions about inspiration, creative evolution and what a trip to Germany and Berlin makes precious to him these days.

The self-taught designer and creator of his own brand started out in the 1980s with pieces of welded furniture. He is probably most known for his iconic S-Chair, designed in the late eighties and reproduced in many variations. In 1993, he not only designed the first upholstered version of the S-Chair for Cappellini, he also took part in a much-regarded exhibition of British furniture designers organised by Helmut Diez in Germany’s Bremerhaven, titled In the Swim. Tom Dixon established his own brand in 2002, followed by the 2007 opening of Design Research Studio (D. R. S.) for architecture and interior design, a vehicle which mirrors Dixon’s immense curiosity when it comes to the interaction between material and design, senses and science.

In Berlin, the interior studio Unique Factory Berlin has facilitated a special Tom Dixon exhibition and talk series during Berlin Design Week. Amela Malja from Unique Factory Berlin marvels; “His passion for material research and timeless design can be felt in every single one of his objects.”

On iconic style and brand creation

We asked the 66-year-old designer what makes the outstanding attraction of Tom Dixon design. “Product designers do not generally set up their own eponymous brands – they tend to work in their own studios, creating products for multiple manufacturers or distributors. We are different as we have created a whole world of lighting, furniture, accessories and scent around one designer name and vision – supplemented by a restaurant and an interior design company called Design Research Studio, so we are able to create a cohesive narrative and aesthetic, and a whole universe where you can illuminate, eat, sit and even smell Tom Dixon!”

Bold, simple, sculptural

With the diversity of unique products from furniture to vase to sculptural lighting object, we were wondering if there is a specific thread of inspiration weaving through the multitude of pieces? “Bold yet simple, sculptural shapes,” the designer explains. “A love of metals and materials generally, nothing too fussy or decorated in a style I call expressive minimalism.”

Creative evolution

Next we were curious about the secret to leading a satisfying life as a longtime creative who has become known as a restless innovator. “Fundamentally, I still have the same interest and passion in materials and manufacturing techniques that I had at the very beginning, and that drives a lot of the research and style, but of course I have evolved with the new ways of living and the new technologies that surround us.” He has indeed, most recently with the LED-based ceiling pendants of the MELT lighting collection – organic, almost amoeba-like, sculptural objects marked by a warm, melting hot-blown glass effect when on, and a mirror-finish effect when off.

Exceptional, extraordinary, unusual: it may be the drive to think out of the box, or sphere, the experimentation within the creation, which explains the attraction that Tom Dixon objects enjoy worldwide, even in museums. Yet, there is a common thread weaving even through his most uncommon work. “I’m not trying to project a message, I’m hoping that people will imperceptibly feel a cohesive aesthetic without it looking too matchy matchy – a sophisticated luminosity, an interest in the future and a nod to history.”

Unique Factory Berlin event with Tom Dixon. Photos: Kozy Studio Berlin

From play to work, and back

The path of an artist or designer is never as smooth as it may look from the outside, once success has been reached. We were wondering, was there a specific spark of illumination, which prompted Tom Dixon’s way into the world of design? A eureka moment when he felt the path solidifying under his feet? The answer is unexpected, however not entirely uncommon for an autodidact. “I never decided to become a designer. This has been a completely evolutionary process, where I started by creating objects for fun whilst I was learning welding – and I was inspired by the fact that people were prepared to actually buy my first musings! I only realised that I was a designer much later on, probably when I was invited to show in Milan in 1989, and discovered the whole culture and love of design that exists in Italy.”

Berlin? Underground creativity!

Berlin has never stopped being a magnet for curious, artistic people trying to find their way by trial and error, play and experimentation – and a lot of inspiration can still be found literally on the street, for example at multiple pop-up exhibitions. The iconic Tacheles, a former centre for underground artists, is only one of the reminders of the buzzing nineties and noughties, when anything was possible. And for all the real estate investment, the city’s curious, ready-for-anything spirit remains.

The experimental yet timeless designer with a knack for futurist creations visits Berlin during Design Week for the first time after 10 years, and he and his team are looking forward to taking a dive into the German capital’s flourishing design scene, curious of what to find. The city which has experimental written on its sleeve, may be a slightly different turf from London, home of the Tom Dixon headquarters, showroom and studio. But the two also have more than one thing in common: multiple layers of history and a constant urge to explore and evolve. Dixon’s verdict therefore is short but poignant; “Both cities are mega historical – vast capitals, with an exciting mix of different creativities and people.”

Whatever the change of scenery brings, the designer is already sure about the three favourite things he loves about Germany, and Berlin in particular. “The cosmopolitan attitude, the scale of the cities and the underground creativity.” And what makes Tom Dixon’s day on a typical visit as an Englishman in Berlin? “A visit to the science museum!”

Tom Dixon: www.tomdixon.net/eu + www.designresearchstudio.net
Unique Factory Berlin: www.unique-factory.com

The brand Tom Dixon is represented by Unique Factory as the official dealer in Berlin. Much more than a showroom, Unique Factory Berlin is a creative hub for inspiration, craft and tailor-made interior solutions.

Amela Malja at Unique Factory Berlin Director marketing & operations
amela@unique-factory.com
T +49 30 609 33 463
M +49 175 193 07 49
Potsdamer Str. 199, 10783 Berlin