The UK is a creative hot house for the design of furniture, lighting and furnishings. Design education is particularly strong in these areas, and there is a wealth of talent in this field. Leading British designers such as Jasper Morrison, Ron Arad and Ross Lovegrove are highly revered internationally, and regularly collaborate with major European furniture and lighting companies, such as Magis, Vitra, Flos, Cappellini and Kartell. Waiting in the wings are the global design superstars of the future, a younger generation of designers including Tord Boontje, El Ultimo Grito and the Azumis, many of whom are foreign-born, but British-trained and UK-based. The furniture and furnishings store Habitat, under the creative direction of design maverick Tom Dixon, produces ground-breaking, affordable products by gifted young designers. The Eight-Fifty lamp by Claire Norcross, a giant pompom made of plastic cable ties, was a recent runaway success. Read more |
