In the cold days between Christmas and New Year last year, Chris and I left our baby daughter, Olivia, with my parents-in-law for the first time, to disappear into our workshop and begin to sculpt in wax the branches of one of the lead pieces of our new range launching at Decorex, the Magma Chandelier.
We met at art school in London when we were both studying sculpture and it was a natural progression for us to begin to design furniture and lighting. We collaborate on all our designs, both keeping notebooks with sketches and ideas we love, which we dip into for inspiration. When we are both confident in a design Chris will draw it out to scale. If the piece involves sculpting then we will both work on the initial design in wax or clay. The Magma Chandelier, a limited edition of 10, was inspired by a root vine wall light which I found at Jean Brown Antiques, in London. It took some weeks for us to sculpt the shape we wanted and several months before we had a final casting.
Chris and I launched Cox London in 2005 specialising in metal work and glass restoration as well as creating unique pieces with an emphasis on good design and quality materials. We now have approximately 30 bespoke pieces in our range and each is designed and made in our London workshop. We like to be as close as possible to the pieces we design and because we are both makers, we enjoy the buzz of a busy studio and find it inspiring to work with the highly skilled craftsmen we employ. We have 10 staff who work a forge, a small foundry, patination and many other associated techniques in the workshop. Only the glass blowing is done outside the workshop but even then we work with British glass makers and are able to get involved in the process there too.
We are developing a passion for more sculptural and less formal pieces and the products we’re launching at Decorex are straight from our sculptor roots. The seven bold pieces, a range of lighting, mirrors and tables, are inspired by antiquity, nature, alchemy and the mythical plumed serpent.
Over the years we've had the opportunity to work with interior designers and private clients from around world but this is the first year we’ve shown at Decorex. Many people have asked us why we’ve chosen this fair. To us it was obvious because although we attend and love other fairs, including Masterpiece and Olympia International Fine Art & Antiques Fair, these have an antiques focus and the exhibitors are mainly dealers where as we want to showcase our new sculpted designs. Decorex is an ideal opportunity to showcase our expertise and craftsmanship in front of an international audience of interior designers who every year want to find something new and dynamic, and this year that’s us.
What’s exciting is that because of our bespoke offer, we’re able to adapt our designs or change the finish as a client requires, whether it’s altering the dimensions of our Rope Twist Console Table or changing the patina on the leaves of the Oak Branch Chandelier. We also work with clients to make their designs and we still get a thrill of seeing our finished pieces in place.
We are excited to be exhibiting at Decorex and look forward to meeting you when you visit our stand, B61.
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