Tomas Alonso

I was born in Vigo, a small city in the north west of Spain,in 1974.Vigo, although a beautiful place with lots of fresh seafood, is not the most cosmopolitan or creative city I can think of and definitely not the kind of place where I saw myself pursuing my lifelong dream of becoming a designer. At the age of 19 quite determined to pursue this path and eager to see more of the world, I left my hometown and moved to the USA where I studied industrial design while I worked designing car wheels for a few years.......Tomas Alonso

taschide

taschide is a design office in Offenbach which is run by Sandra Tan and Johannes Schiebe. The two designer have successfully been co-operating since 2004. The products designed by them are given more than just a nice outer shape. The designs of 'taschide' address the observers on an emotional level and arouse their curiosity. Their approach is it to find a harmony between the functional needs and the sensual look of a product. Designing and arranging rooms or creating exhibitions and installations are also part of their creativity.

Tina Roeder

I received a BA from Saint Martins College in London and an MA under Droog Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2004.
Following an internship with Studio Job in Antwerp and Bless in Berlin, I started my own studio in 2007. I live and work in Berlin.....Tina Roeder

Tobias Grau

Franziska Grau (born 1964) and Tobias Grau (born 1957) are married with four children. The couple lives in Hamburg and
has been running Tobias Grau GmbH together for 20 years. The company was founded by Tobias Grau in Hamburg in 1984.

Both studied business administration; Tobias Grau subsequently spent a year studying design in the USA.

Today Tobias Grau GmbH is based on the outskirts of Hamburg and employs a staff of 120.

Tom Price

Born in London, 1973.
Studies:
- 2005-2007:
MA Royal College of Art
- 2002-2004:
HND Furniture Design & Realisation at London Metropolitan University
- 1993-1996:
BA (hons) Fine Art: Sculpture at Bath College of Higher Education,
Public Collections:
SFMoMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) Permanent Design Collection. - Meltdown Chair: Cable Tie - Meltdown Chair: PVC Hose MKG Hamburg (Museum for Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg) - Meltdown Chair: PP Sheet
Awards:
- 2004: Boss Design Mentoring Award.
- 2004: Peter Walker Award for Innovation in Furniture Design. - 2005: Finalist: BIDA Awards
- 2005: Finalist: Design & Decoration Awards
Tom Price Website

Tokujin Yoshioka

Tokujin Yoshioka was born in Japan in 1967 and, after having studied at length with Shiro Kuramata and Issey Miyake, in 2000 set up his studio, Tokujin Yoshioka Design, in Tokyo.

His partnership with Issey Miyake has been in existence for over 20 years. Tokujin Yoshioka has taken part in a number of projects by the fashion designer, designing among other things Issey Miyake and A-POC stores and producing the installation entitled Issey Miyake Making Things for the Cartier foundation in Paris, achieving international fame.

Tokujin Yoshioka came to the Milan furniture show for the first time in 2002, presenting the chairs Honey Pop and Tokyo Pop for Driade.

Again for Driade, in the same year, he designed an extraordinary installation, transforming the entire space, in the heart of Milan, into a futuristic Japanese garden.

His other projects include the TOFU lamp produced for Yamagiwa, the STARDUST chandelier designed for Swarovski Crystal Palace, shop windows for Hermes and the Toyota stand at the Tokyo motor show.

One of the most recent and interesting experimental design works by Tokujin Yoshioka is the Pane Chair presented at last year's Milan furniture show.

The name comes from the production process of the chair, similar to baking bread. The material is inserted in a mould and, as when bread is baked, placed in an oven. The fibres stiffen and memorise the shape of the mould through the effect of the heat. At the end of "cooking" the finished chair is taken out.

The Pane Chair played a major role at the exhibition Tokujin Yoshioka x Lexus L-Finesse - Evolving Fiber Technology, staged at the Museo della Permanente in Milan. On that occasion Tokujin Yoshioka created an installation with more than 7000 km of optical fibres, transforming the space into a giant lens.

In the autumn of 2006 he presented his solo exhibition entitled Tokujin Yoshioka - Super Fiber Revolution, at the Axis gallery in Tokyo, seen as the completion of his research and experimental study of materials. Concurrently the British publishers Phaidon published the monograph book entitled Tokujin Yoshioka Design, distributed worldwide, which describes his experimental design, always in pursuit of new possibilities for future developments.

Tokujin Yoshioka has received a number of awards and his works are displayed in the permanent collections of the most prestigious museums in the world: the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Vitra Design Museum in Berlin and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Tokujin Yoshioka website

Tomek Rygalik

Tomek Rygalik was born in Lodz, Poland in 1976. He studied Architecture at the Technical University of Lodz, and than Industrial Design at the Pratt Institute in New York (1999 BA/Hons).
After his studies he worked with several design companies in New York City and the area - consulting for clients including Kodak, Polarioid, MTV, PerkinElmer, Dentsply, Uniliver, DuPont etc.
In 2003 he came to the Royal College of Art for Post Graduate studies (2005 MA RCA).
After graduating from the RCA, Tomek Rygalik established his own design practice in both London and Lodz and joined the RCA stuff as a Research Associate. He also teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. His most recent work includes projects for Moroso, Artek, Iker, Heal's and Ideal Standard.
Tomek Rygalik was awarded with numerous prizes and awards including most recent Gold Medal of the 2007 Poznan International Fair, First Prize Award in the 2006 International Bombay Sapphire Martini Glass Design Competition, BSI Environmental Design Award 2005, and Rosenthal Design Award 2004. He was also a finalist of The British Council's International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 competition.
Over the last few years his work was exhibited in Berlin, Frankfurt, Lodz, London, Milan, Munich, New York, Tokyo, Poznan, Warsaw and Valencia.
Tomek Rygalik website

Toshiyuki Kita

Kita extended his creative field from Japan to Italy and to the international arena as an environmental and industrial designer since 1969. He has created many hit products for European and Japanese manufacturers, ranging from furniture, LCD TV sets, robots to household goods and appliances. Many of his works are possessed by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, and other museums around the world. In recent years, he has been promoting education by holding seminars and workshops not only in Japan, but also in Europe and Asia. He continues to be involved in his lifelong devotion to working with traditional crafts and developing local industries.
1942 Born in Osaka (Japan).
1983 He was awarded the Product Design Award by the Institute of Business Designers and Contract Magazine, in the United States.
1986 He worked in Malaysia and Japan as teacher of industrial/craft design.
1987 Participated in the officiation of the Centre George Pompidou.
1990 Awarded the "Delta de Oro" in Spain.
1991 His works were shown at the Hiroshima Modern Art Museum in Japan.
1992 Designed interiors and armchairs for the Japanese Pavilion and the rotating theatre of Seville.
1993 He won the Top Ten prize in Cologne.
1999 He exhibited in Osaka, Japan.

Three of his works were chosen for permanent showing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Toshiyuki Kita website

Tomita Kazuhiko

BORN in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1965
STUDIES B. Eng. Industrial Design at Chiba University in Japan (1989)
MA. Furniture Design at the Royal College of Art, London (1992)
AND
- in 1993 establishes 2.5-Dimensional Design; produces
ceramic bowl “Stars” with A.Mendini & E.Sottsass;
- in 1993 presents his own collections in international fairs
- in 1997 Slide lecture, Royal College of Art, London
- in 2000 Art Director of Covo, Rome
designes the COVO SHOP in Rome
- in 2001 Rim tableware collection with Vico Magistretti
for Rörstrand, Sweden
- in 2004 Art Director for Nussha, Paris
AWARDS
- in 1990 Cassina Scholarship & British Council Grant
to study at the Royal College of Art, London
- in 1991 First Prize in “Architectural Future of Stainless Steel
competition”, London
- in 1992 Marchette Award, Royal College of Art, London
- in 1997 Roter Punkt Award, Design Zentrum Nordrhein
Westfalen, Essen; Asahi Modern Crafft Awards,
Osaka; Honorable Citizen Prize, Verona
- in 1998 Judge's Prize, International Ceramic Exhibition
in Mino; G-mark special / Good Design Award,
small&medium enterprises dept., JIDPO, Tokyo;
The International Design Year Book, London
- in 1999 Design Plus Award, Frankfurt / Main;
The International Design Year Book, London
- in 2001 2 Design Plus Awards, Frankfurt / Main;
The International Design Year Book, London
Designing 21st Century, Taschen, Köln
- in 2002 The International Design Year Book, London
2 Honarable Mentions, Intl.Ceramic Compe. Mino
A+ Award, Accent on Design Fair, NYC
SHAPE Award, Frankfurt / Main;
EXHIBITIONS
- in 1999 2.5-dimensional design, solo exhibition, Ozone
Gallery, Living Design Centre, Tokyo
- in 2001 Italian Design Furniture on Tour, around the world
- in 2002 'COVO' exhibition, Totem gallery SOHO, NYC
- in 2003 'RE-FUSION'exhibition, Quattrocento, Milano
- in 2003 FUSION: Architecture+Design in Japan,
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Tomita Kazuhiko website

Tom Dixon

Established in 2002 by Tom Dixon and David Begg, Tom Dixon is a British design and manufacturing company of lighting and furniture. In 2004, Proventus the Swedish-based private investment company, teamed up with Tom Dixon and David Begg to establish Design Research Ltd, a design and product development holding company. It includes Tom Dixon, Design Research Ltd and Artek, the Finnish modernist furniture company established by Alvar Aalto in 1935.

With a recognised commitment to innovation and a mission to revive the British furniture industry, the Tom Dixon brand is inspired by the unique heritage, the individualistic innovation and the robust, no nonsense engineering of these small islands.

Today the Tom Dixon portfolio consists of over 45 products of lighting and furniture. Product is sold through a large network of dealers in over 52 countries world-wide. The brand launches new collections annually at major international venues such as the Milan Furniture Fair, ICFF and 100% Design London. In 2005, Tom Dixon created a public installation of 80 meters of public seating based around a rubber theme to celebrate the launch of the London Design festival and in 2006 the seating theme was extended with the 'Chair Grab', 500 polystyrene chairs were given to the general public. In 2007, Tom Dixon organised the 'Great Light Giveaway' of 1000 lights with a low energy bulb to the general public, bringing further awareness to the use of CFL's and sustainability within design.

In 2007, Tom Dixon launched a US division of the company, offering comprehensive distribution through the opening of a warehouse in New Jersey as well as a US based service team. In September 2008, a new partnership was formed between Tom Dixon and George Smith to launch a new upholstery collection Tom Dixon by George Smith.

In 2002, Design Research Ltd launched an interior design arm to the business Design Research Studio. Under the creative direction of Tom, Design Research Studio has worked on many prestigious projects including the new Paramount members club at Centre Point, Shoreditch House, Habitat Regent Street, Tokyo Hipsters Member Club and London Design Embassy at the ICA.

Tom Dixon Website

Tord Boontje

1968 born in Enschede, Netherlands
1986 enrols at the Design Academy in Eindhoven to study industrial design.
1989 work placement in New York.
1990 works for the Studio Alchimia design group in Milan.
1991 graduates from the Design Academy, Eindhoven.
1992 moves to London to study for a master´s degree in industrial design at the Royal College of Art; meets the glass designer Emma Woffenden who has been is partner ever since.
1994 graduates from the Royal College of Art.
1995 designs exhibitions with Ulf Moritz in Amsterdam.
1996 moves to Peckham, south London where he sets up a studio with Emma.
1997 collaborates with Emma to produce the tranSglass collection of glass vases, beakers and carafes made from used beer and wine bottles.
1998 makes the Rough-and-Ready Chair in kit form from strips of pre-cut wood using blankets as upholstery; starts to design products, such as eyewear, for the fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
1999 participates in the Stealing Beauty: British Design Now exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London.
2000 Tord and Emma´s daughter Evelyn is born; exhibits his Rough-and-Ready furniture at Tate Modern, London.
2001 designs the Wednesday Light and manufactures it on a batch production basis; develops a collection of vases for Dartington Crystal.
2002 returns to the Royal College of Art to teach industrial design; designs two chandeliers ‘Blossom and Horse´ for Swarovski´s Crystal Palace; develops Garland, a less expensive version of the Wednesday Light for Habitat; solo exhibition at the Barrett Marsden Gallery, London.
2003 participates in the Great Brits exhibition organised by the Design Museum and British Council at the 2003 Milan Furniture Fair; launches the Inflorescence project in collaboration with Andrew Shoben and Andrew Allenson; shortlisted for the Design Museumís Designer of the Year award.

2004 Works with Moroso on the "Happy Ever After" exhibition in Milan.
Develops the Midsummer Light and Until Dawn with Artecnica.
Tord Boontje website