Born in Tunisia, Dixon moved to Great Britain in 1963 and to London in 1965. In 1979 Dixon studied an art college foundation course at Chelsea School of Art in London but left after only six months and later took on several odd jobs in printing, cartoon animation and as guitarist in a disco band.
In 1983 Dixon learned to weld in a friend’s repair shop and subsequently began making furniture from salvaged materials. During the 1980’s he made metal pieces for commercial industrial interiors designed by Branson Coates in Japan and Great Britain, and in 1986 he had his first solo exhibition at Ron Arad’s One-Off Studio in Covent Garden, London.
In 1991 Dixon designed his first wire framed Plyon Chair and the following year Italian manufacturer Capellini began producing Dixons S-chair that is one off his most prolific works. In the late 1990’s Dixon became head of design and later creative director at the British interior-store Habitat, a position he held until 2008. In 1997 his Jack Light (designed in 1994) was distinguished as a Millenium Product by British Design Council.
In 2000/1 Dixon was a warded an OBE (Order of the British Empire Award) by Her Majesty the Queen for his services to British design and the following year he founded the Tom Dixon design company in London. From 2004 Dixon was the creative director for the Tom Dixon brand as well as for the Finnish brand Artek. Three years later he launched his company in the USA and also founded the Design Research Studio, an interior design subsidiary that works with restaurants, hotels and retail spaces.
Tom Dixon was named Designer of the Year by Architectur & Wohnen in 2008 and at Maison & Objet trade fair in Paris in 2014. In 2109 he received the prestigious London Design Medal at the British Land Celebration of Design Awards.
