tom dixon. interviews with the protagonists of the creative scene: we met the tunesian designer in his habitat office in london ....................................
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tom dixon born 1959 in sfax, tunisia; he grew up in great britain from the age of 4 years on. as an autodidact he got into the design business. when he was 20 years old, he organised events on the 'favolous' english party scene before creating his first objects at the age of 25, becoming one of the most talked-about avant-garde designers. in 1991 he founded his own studio 'space' and launched 'eurolounge', a series of multifunctional furnishing items. in this period he conceived numerous exhibitions on 'creative recycling' and experiments with unusual materials. he designed objects and interiors for terence conran, jean paul gaultier, romeo gigli, ralph lauren and vivienne westwood. more known are his design products for cappellini, driade, inflate,and scp. his work is part of the collection of world's leading museums as the boston museum of fine art, the london design museum, the centre pompidou in paris, the moma in new york, the museum of modern art in tokyo, the victorian & albert museum and the vitra museum in basle. tom dixon has held lessons at the royal college of art, kingston polytechnic and plymouth university. in 1998 he was appointed 'head of design' at the british furnishing house 'habitat' http://www.tomdixon.net the design work of tom dixon is part of following manufacturer's collections: www.cappellini.it www.habitat.net www.inflate.co.uk	tom dixon © designboom
--- this interview took place on the 5th of october 2000 in his' office at the furnishing house 'habitat' in london. --- what is the best moment of the day? oh oh oh mornings what kind of music do you listen to at the moment? music? west coast jazz. do you listen to the radio? yeah, radio 4. what books do you have on your bedside table? I haven’t got a bedside table do you read design magazines? I flick through them. where do you get news from? news? radio. in the car. do you notice how women are dressing? do you have any preferences? variety what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing? labels. do you have any pets? no, I just have some stick insects. where do you work on your designs and projects? mainly when I’m walking. I have to be moving, so when the radio’s broken down in the car, or if I take a bicycle or when I’m walking. transport related... who would you like to design something for? for the international space station orbiting around the world at the moment. when you are working, do you discuss or exchange ideas with your colleagues? no I keep very quite describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it. my style of design I was told I was a vertebrate as opposed to an invertebrate. vertebrates are animals with a spine...(laughs) is there any designer from past you appreciate a lot? hundreds. the really obvious ones, like buckminster fuller, people who were partly engineers. what about your younger colleagues, are there any particular ones you appreciate? many again. do you believe in sharing knowledge via internet? or do you think that the internet has more negative effects on us? the same negative effects as anything that has to do with mass communication. just a flattening of the world, everything becoming too similar. ...but we share our knowledge on the internet as well... last week on the news broadcast they said that italians are afraid of unemployment, criminality and pollution. what are you afraid of regarding the future ? violence. man’s violence to fellow men and other species... (he had a really bad expression)	hand formed extruded chair, 2002. manufacturer tom dixon pylon chair for cappellini 1992 s-chair for cappellini 1991
the questionaire of marcel proust (1871 - 1922) ................................................................................................................................................. (in age of fourteen proust was given an english album "confessions : an album to record thoughts, feelings". seven years later marcel proust published this questionaire) in the literary salons in nineteenth century paris, this parlour game was a popular amusement. for designboom tom dixon has answered these 'old fashioned' questions...............................................................................................................
the main traits of my character. passion. a quality I desire in a man. surprise. a quality I desire in a woman. how many (laughs). what I appreciate most among my friends. availability. my principal defect. lack of openness. my favourite occupation. I don’t have one, making something. my dream of felicity. to live in a tower with a view. what would be the biggest misfortune for me. to be bored who I would like to be. jimi hendrix (laughs). were I would like to live. cairo. the colour I prefer. gold. the flower I love. mimosa. the bird I prefer. humming birds. my favourite authors. -. my favourite poets. -. my heroes in fiction. -. my heroines in fiction. -. my favourite composers. -. my favourite artists. franz klein, pierre soulage my heroes in real life. 'I'. my heroines in history. -. my favourite names. -. what I hate most. it’s really bad to hate. the historic characters I dislike most. -. the military enterprise I like the most. -. the reformation I appreciate the most. the third revolution in yugoslavia (yesterday). nature’s gift I would like to have. (laughs) how I would like to die. in an explosion. my soul's present condition. damaged on the edges. the faults I can bear. quite a lot. my motto. (laughs) --- ------- monthly designboom newsletter ------- ------- ? comments and contact us ? -------	products for eurolounge 'jack' lamp for eurolounge 1997 'bubble vase' for eurolounge 1999 'bird', seater for cappellini 1990 'hoop', 1998 chaise longue for scp 'star light', floor lamp for eurolounge, 1998