Jasper Morrison

When did you realise you wanted to be a designer?

At 16 or 17 I started noticing design, then I saw an exhibition of Eileen Gray’s work and that convinced me it was something I wanted to do.

What is artificial light for you?

At its best I think it is a warm combination of uplight and spots of floor and table light.

Why do you like working with Flos?

Flos was always the company I wanted to design for. They had so many great designs of Castiglioni and others. Then when Piero Gandini took over and started to mix the classic design approach with something more disruptive it got an edge that made it even more appealing.

What is the next object you’d like to design?

I never think about it, most of my designs are accidental, I just have to be ready to catch them when they pop up.

Is there a great designer, artist or musician you regard as a point of reference for your work?

Too many! But especially Brancusi, Castiglioni, Enzo Mari, Dieter Rams, Sori Yanagi, Eileen Gray, Borg Mogenson….

What sort of objects do you like to use at home? Old, new, bought, found?

Many of my own designs mixed with old, new, bought and found. I buy a lot of Danish furniture.

What is your best memory of your friend James Irvine?

One of my best memories of James is an early morning trip up to Cappellini in the early 90’s. We stopped at Bar Basso for a coffee. While we stood at the bar an elegant Italian business man walked in, ordered a dry martini, drank it in one go and walked out. We never knew where he was heading but we had a lot of laughs trying to imagine what kind of trouble he must have been in.