Tom Dixon

"I was searching for the hardest-wearing and most attractive materials for tabletops. At the same time, I was labouring on my own apartment, laying a reclaimed oak tile in a herringbone pattern on the floor. I thought it might make an attractive wall finish, and then there was no reason not to use it as a kitchen counter-top. It struck me that a top idea might be to use the same surface from the table and the floor and try and gain visual space through the vanishing table plane (it was a small space). This might create an almost invisible set of furniture. The extravagant shape was taken from a visit to a jewelery workshop, where traditionally the craftsman will sit at a desk with a cutout to be as close to the work as possible and not lose precious metals."