Tom Dixon was born in 1958 in Sfax, Tunisia, to an English father and a French-Lithuanian mother. He moved to England at the age of four, and briefly attended the Chelsea College of Art and Design, without however obtaining any qualifications. A self-taught welding enthusiast, he began his career by creating furniture from recycled industrial waste – items which were made almost by improvising the practically instant processing of metal without any preliminary drawings. 1985 was a turning point for the English designer. He was discovered, via Creative Salvage, by Giulio Cappellini, who proposed a collaboration with his family’s company, one which was to become very fruitful. Dixon was launched onto the international market and presented as an enfant prodige of contemporary design, immediately gaining notable visibility. In 1989 he set up the Space studio, initially dedicated to the production of metal furniture and commercial set-ups and interiors. The studio was soon to be accompanied by the Space Shop, the showroom which sold products designed by Dixon himself and the young designer he worked with. He became his own boss, setting up a design system which was completely different from the Italian style, in which a key role was played by the relationship between the designer and the company willing to produce the items, one which had in some way already been explored by Ingo Maurer. His commercial success led to his nomination as Head of Design at Habitat, in 1998, where he became Creative Director. In 2000, Dixon received the prestigious Order of the British Empire, awarded by HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Dixon’s works are included in the permanent collections of the most important museums, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the MoMa in New York and Tokyo, and the Centre Pompidou.
