It was a couple of months ago that we were first approached about the Tom Dixon Howard Street store, and since then the entire project has been a bit of a whirlwind. With the spectacular opening last week it was obvious that all of this hard work had been well worth it!
Our London showroom and offices are based on site with Tom Dixon at Portobello Dock, and we share our showroom space with his eponymous store – our clients who visit us here are treated to his furniture throughout and the chance to lunch at the Dock Kitchen. It was actually at an informal meeting at the Dock Kitchen some weeks ago that the plans for a New York store were first discussed, and Sphere8 were asked to come on board as a partner to contribute to this exciting new space.
It was immediately obvious that the biggest issue was timing, as the deal for the Howard Street space had been struck up rather spontaneously! Having learnt that the location was available for one year, the Tom Dixon team quickly committed to creating a design-led experience here and had a matter of weeks to pull this out of the bag. By the time Sphere8 was approached there were just 4 weeks until we needed to be in there, and we had to work against an immovable deadline with the opening date looming.
To further complicate the project, this installation marks a number of firsts for us – a new continent to crack; a new colour to create; a new production partner to work with. Having developed throughout the UK and Europe in the last few years, North America is the next obvious choice for Sphere8 to develop into – but it is not without its challenges! We are thrilled that this opportunity has begun the process of expanding into the American market. In this instance Alex got in touch with an old contact across the pond who was happy to come on board as our production partner, which went a lot of the way to making the installation possible in such a short period of time.
© Sphere8, 2018
The next challenge was developing the striking Yves Klein blue that is so immediately obvious. It is a vibrant and dynamic colour, and an obvious choice for such a creative brand. However, unlike previous bespoke projects with specific hues, Yves Klein blue has an international standard that must be met – and managing pigment choice from across the Atlantic was another challenging demand. There was a lot of communication to ensure it was exactly as the Tom Dixon team had imagined and that we were happy with the opacity of the product.
Fortunately the entire project came together and on the final weekend of June we had our team in the shell of a store installing a vibrant Yves Klein blue poured resin floor throughout the back space of the building. Upon the opening last week we saw the final installation, and combined with the bronze of Tom Dixon’s famous lights the entire space looks fantastic.
© Sphere8, 2018
© Sphere8, 2018
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