The art of crafting new old favourites
Having dealt in antiques for eight years, Matt Dixon saw a gap in the market. Using an army of British craftsmen, he has launched a new furniture business in an old chapel in Malton. Catherine Scott writes. Main pictures by James Hardisty.
MATT Dixon loves antique furniture. Eight years ago, he launched Tallboy Interiors selling and restoring antiques he’d acquired in this country and in Europe. But he started to realise that while interior designers loved the quality of antiques, they wanted the flexibility and choices afforded by modern furniture.
Dixon realised there was a gap in the market for new beautifully crafted furniture with tradition at its core.
“Part of an antique’s charm is that they are one-off items but when you are working commercial designers they are sometimes a tricky thing to use as they may not be the right size and there is only likely to be one of them.”
During his career he developed a number of close relationships with talented modern day craftspeople inspired by tradition which led to the creation of FORM by Tallboy. He works closely with a roster of master craftsmen to create his own designs for FORM, as well as bespoke, specially commissioned pieces.
“Through working with antiques and restoring them I had built up a network of craftsmen, some in Yorkshire and some in other parts of the country,” he explains.
“I have an amazing upholsterer in Nottingham. The owner said they can now make frames and that was the start FORM. Then we have a restorer and French Polisher by trade also has training and cabinet and furniture making. He’s based just outside of York and he makes all our mirrors. He’s all about tradition. He uses the best sustainable materials everything
nd is done by hand by him and his small team.
“Then there is a Yorkshire based blacksmith Sam, who makes our Brokkr Martini Table from forged steel.
“Sam is such a talent and I plan to do more work with him. Every detail is beaten and shaped by hand from the patina on the table to the tools used to create the piece.
“The tools were made specifically for this design making it truly unique – it might look a relatively simple table but every element is quite involved. It just made sense that