TALKING TO TOM DIXON ON THE OCCASION OF HIS VISIT TO THAILAND DURING THE ‘48 HOURS IN BANGKOK’ EVENT ABOUT WORKING BACKWARDS AND HIS PERSPECTIVE ON THE CURRENT DESIGN INDUSTRY
TEXT: NATHATAI TANGCHADAKORN
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN
(For Thai, press here)
Tom Dixon’s story is one of the most ‘fun’ among well-known designers. He used to do pottery, be in a band, and never plan anything believing they’re always evolution. Even on the Tom Dixon official website, his introductory article was named ‘Tom Dixon on Becoming a designer by accident.’ How interesting!
On this occasion that Dixon visits Bangkok on 25 February 2025 as the first destination of the Asia tour, art4d have a brief conversation with him, celebrating both the ‘Tom Dixon’s 48 Hours in Bangkok’ and the opening of ‘Tom Dixon Experience’ at MOTIF, Central Embassy.
art4d: Could you tell us about the project that you are currently working on?
Tom Dixon: You know, we’re a company that does mainly indoor projects, so it’s nice to be able to work outdoors. The project we’re just launching here in Bangkok is an outdoor furniture collection called ‘Groove’.
I think what’s nice about that is, in Europe that was driven a lot by COVID and the fact that people had to live outside more. Doing an outdoor collection is very challenging because from a functionality perspective, it has to be harder wearing, it has to have more changes in temperature, so it’s a tough environment for furniture. It’s been difficult not to design, but difficult to get it at the right price and the right functionality to survive outdoors.
art4d: What is the meaning behind the ‘48 Hours in Bangkok’? Is it a sign that it is a second step of ‘24 Hours’ ?
TD: Not really, we started 24 hours in COVID, right? –again, another COVID reference, where it was impossible to know where you could travel to until a week before. Because everythings was closing down and opening up. We developed a format where we could do the minimum amount of time in a city with the maximum returns. Now, with COVID not here, we can probably afford twice as much time, depending on the number of events, we’ll make it 48 or 24. (laugh)
I will be in Taiwan tomorrow, then I’ll be in Seoul for 24 hours. And then I’ll be in Tokyo for 48 hours, and then I’ll be in Singapore for 24 hours, you know, it was a successful kind of format for us in my thinking a long time ago. Because I came from the music business, so this idea that you just go and hit as many cities as possible, not only the obvious ones like Milan and London, but to really go out and meet the people that look after you and to work in places where you’re appreciated but maybe not so many designers turn up and spend time.
art4d: You have said before that “The furnishing industry isn’t like having a hit record. There’s no moment when you know you are number one.” Then as a designer, which part of the design process are you most proud of?
TD: I guess you’re always dissatisfied with your design, right? Once it’s launched, it’s like “okay, I know what I should have done. I’m going to start all over again.” So the most exciting part is always the next one that you’re working on. That’s why I’m always more passionate about next year rather than last year.
I mean, ultimately, it’s nice to see success. There’s somethings which also are significant for me when I rework. These lamps (BEAT collection) are quite a good example because they started off as a not-for-profit project in India with some metal workers. That was funded by the British Council. We made the lamps and then they were a big success commercially, even though they weren’t supposed to be commercial at all. And then they got copied a lot, particularly in China. I looked at them again and thought how about we copy the copiers? By making them in aluminum and not making them hand-beaten but by just machine, we could reduce the cost. And then all of a sudden, we’ve got a new aesthetic.
The copies are made to look like they’re in brass, like in a precious metal. The inspiration of these pieces was really copying the copyist and the inspiration at the beginning was trying to do something for the metal workers. It’s evolved as a product over time into something new. I think often as a product designer you’re just trying to make a perfect thing which exists, just like that. So it’s kind of nice to revisit things and upgrade them.
art4d: Do you think we really have a new design? If you design something new, is it really new?
TD: I think it’s only really new when technology changes and you’re able to do new typologies, or when society changes and people start behaving in different ways. In reality, interior design goes more slowly than almost any other type of design, and that’s a good thing because changing like a fashion brand has to every six months is not sustainable, right? (laugh)
What’s interesting right now in the interior is the revolution that’s happened with led lighting. You’ve got completely new technology that you can work into. And it makes you able to do all kinds of things. It’s like how rechargeable lamps are a new thing, because the battery and the bulb would use too much energy before. So, yes, you can do new things and yes, society is evolving.
art4d: What do you think of the furnishing industry these days?
TD: In terms of design, the furnishing industry is one of the slower and kind of more sustainable or more comfortable rates of change. Because you cannot change your home every year to follow a new trend. It’s got a good rhythm balance between creativity, innovation and permanence, which I quite like.
I think it would be really tough being in electronics or in fashion right now, where you have to change all the time, just because you have to change to increase consumption rather than build things which have got a proper foundation and longevity. It’s a nice profession because it has this degree of permanence.
art4d: Do you have any goals for your studio in the future?
TD: Yeah, I think it’s important to really think about what you’re adding to the planet at the moment and to make sure that you know the sources of your materials, how things are made and make sure that they’re long-lasting. So, I think the future will really be trying to make things that are more useful and more long-life than before.
art4d: More sustainable.
TD: Sustainable is an overused word, right? (laugh) I don’t think anybody that makes anything can be that sustainable, but I think it can be better than we’ve been before.
