Born in Tunisia in 1959, Dixon came to Huddersfield at the age of 4. He dropped out of art school in 1980 and played in funk bands and organised warehouse parties. Sometimes, necessity is the mother of all invention and following a motorcycle accident, Dixon taught himself to weld in order to fix his bike. It was during this period that Dixon had trained himself as a designer-maker (with no technical guidance) and was starting to sell limited editions of his welded furniture. He had sold sufficient amounts to justify opening a retail space - called Space.
Dixon continued his collaborations with other designers in his 'first proper job' as head of design at Habitat, where he has reissued archive designs by Verner Panton, Ettore Sottsass and Robin Day as well as commissioning new pieces from Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Ineke Hans and Marc Newson. He continues to initiate new projects as an independent designer and as creative director of Artek, the Finnish furniture manufacturer founded by the architect Alvar Aalto in the 1930s. “A kind friend once described me as a ‘vertebrate designer’,” Dixon said. “That means that I design from the bones outwards and am not really interested in surface.”
As Dixon's international reputation grew, he was approached by Italian furniture design company, Cappellini. He began to be taken seriously on the international stage as Cappellini worked to put some of his designs into major production. The "S" chair made Tom Dixon's name, evolving from early prototypes in his Creative Salvage days. It was initially woven with recycled rubber inner tubes, and then covered in rush, a material traditionally used for drop in seats. Cappellini were attracted by its sculptural form and amazing legless structure of bent steel frame. Launched by Cappellini with a vibrant felt upholstered covering in 1989, the "S" chair quickly reached iconic like status and now has a permanent place in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Dixon has since collaborated with Cappellini on many other projects, including the Bird Rocking chair, the Pylon table and chair and the tub chair to name but a few.
TOM DIXON the company was started by Tom Dixon and David Begg in 2002. Since its inception, the company has developed its own collection of contemporary lighting and furniture including the acclaimed Mirror Ball Collection of lights and more recently Copper Shade. TOM DIXON designs have entered the international major league through renowned shows at major venues like the Milan Furniture Fair and the London Design Museum, where Tom Dixon is currently nominated for Designer of the Year. Tom Dixon the designer is particularly well known for his earlier designs such as the S-chair, designed for Cappellini, and the rotationally moulded Jack Lamp which gained the Millennium Mark for Great British Design in 1998. He was awarded the OBE for services to British Design in 2000.
In 2004 a partnership was established between the TOM DIXON founders and the venture capital company Proventus, forming Design Research, which today owns and manages both TOM DIXON and Artek, the Finnish modernist furniture manufacturer which was established by Alvar Aalto in 1935. Additionally, Tom Dixon has also been the creative director for major furniture retailer Habitat since 1997.
It's worth pointing out that Dixon has no technical qualifications in design. He is one my design heroes for his dedication to mastering a skill and turning it into a craft in order to produce consistently innovative and creative solutions to furniture and lighting.
Tom Dixon was awarded an OBE in 2000 for his services to British Design and holds an Honorary Doctorate from Birmingham City University - he now has the biggest honour of being the first William Farr Design Hero!
(thanks to the Design Museum and Arch 1 Design)
