In the latest installment of King’s Cross’s multi-billion pound revamp, British designer Tom Dixon has relocated his entire studio to a Victorian coal yard in Granary Square. Doesn’t sound too glam? Think again.
Dubbed the Coal Office, the new 17,500 square foot HQ boasts offices, a material and textile hub, a hotly-anticipated and as yet unannounced restaurant and the brands new flagship store, all set against exposed brick walls and Dinesen wood floors that provide a pared-back, industrial backdrop to the glitz and glam of Dixon’s twinkly brass and copper-clad designs.
There’s even a canal-side cocktail clubroom, so what’s not to like?
And when the seasoned Salone del Mobile exhibitor takes a year out from the design calendars biggest event to focus solely on the project, you know it’s going to be something special.
Opening today, the new shop and showroom is housed downstairs in a series of railway arches that date back to 1851, now brought firmly into the present with Dixon’s latest collections; expect to see the new Silver, Black and Blue lighting ranges that signal a temporary departure from his signature copper-centered aesthetic towards a crisper palette of glossy black and pop art blue.
Yet while lighting might be the star of the Tom Dixon show, there’s much more to see here, with each arch playing host to the brand’s distinct collections.
Enter through the gift shop and wonder into the adjoining ‘haberdashery’ and ‘museum shop’, where collaborations big and small with the likes of florist Nikki Tibbles and The Rug Company will be on display.
“I wanted to mix it up so it isn’t all about me,” Dixon admitted to Livingetc. “That’s the reason it’s called the Coal Shop and not the Tom Dixon shop”. Follow your nose into the final arch and discover scents of pink pepper, exotic fig and hot dry tarmac (yes, really!) in the Perfumery.
So it’s official. Kings Cross is London’s new design hub, with Granary Square at its trendy, brick-clad epicentre. Dixon’s neighbours include Central Saint Martins, the Thomas Heatherwick-designed Coal Drops Yard retail centre and Google’s new HQ. North of the river really is where it’s at.
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