The dual condition of manufacturer and designer of products puts Tom Dixon in a very special place; he deals with the physical and economical constraints of the industrial production but also gets the chance, as a designer, to get inspired by the manufacturing processes themselves; and the results of this "contamination" are pretty interesting.
The Etch lamps are a perfect example. How to make the best out of an extremely thin, hence weak, metal sheet? Dixon uses old good geometry to give it the needed structure, along with sophisticated and precise metal working techniques. Employing a process often used in circuit boards and electrical equipment, microcopically detailed patterns are cut into the metal, which is later folded into a geometric shell-like structure.
The graphic filigree etched in the metal filters light creating a delicate halo of shadows.
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