Tony Chambers | |
|---|---|
 Tony Chambers, Barbican, London 2017 | |
| Occupation(s) | Creative Director, Design Consultant and Editor |
Tony Chambers is a Creative Director, Design Consultant and Editor. He is the Founder and Director of design consultancy TC & Friends and Co-Chair of Brainstorm Design, Fortune Magazine's annual design and business conference held in Singapore. From 2003 to 2018 he served as Brand and Content Director, Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director of Wallpaper* Magazine, for which he still contributes. It has been said that "he is one of the most influential arbiters of taste in the design world".[1]
Chambers joined Wallpaper* as Creative Director in January 2003, and was appointed Editor-in-Chief in March 2007.[2] He is the longest serving editor of the magazine[3] and in September 2017 he was promoted to Brand and Content Director.[4]
Under his stewardship, Wallpaper* magazine was transformed into a global brand. He introduced a series of over 100 pocket City Guides,[5] a website and iPad edition, an in-house creative agency, an interior design service, and the online WallpaperSTORE*.[6] He is also the creator of Wallpaper*Handmade,[7] an annual exhibition at Salone del Mobile which brings together the designers, craftsmen and manufacturers to collaborate on one-of-a-kind pieces. One of his latest projects is to co-chair the development of Brainstorm Design to be held in Singapore in March 2018.[8]
He has worked with creative personalities including Jean Nouvel, Philippe Starck, Louise Bourgeois, Karl Lagerfeld, Hedi Slimane, Christian Marclay, Kraftwerk and Zaha Hadid on guest editors' issues.
Prior to joining Wallpaper*, Tony was Art Director at British GQ and Art Editor of The Sunday Times Magazine.
He has twice been named the Professional Publishers Association's Designer of Year,[9] and twice Editor of the Year for Lifestyle Magazines by the British Society of Magazine Editors.[10]
Tony's design consultancy, TC & Friends, is involved in a number of high end projects, including OTOMOTO, a joint venture with artist Ryan Gander. OTOMOTO's first product is a "joyous" kitchen sink.[11] In 2020 he launched Woman and Design joining forces with Sao Paolo based Etel.[12]
In November 2015 Tony Chambers received the BSME's Mark Boxer Award[13] for outstanding lifelong services to the magazine industry. It is an award that has also been won in recent years by Ian Hislop, Richard Ingrams and Nicholas Coleridge.[14]
Chambers is a member of the University of the Arts London Conferments Committee.[15] He also serves on the judging committee of the London Design Festival Design Medal,[16] and the judging panels of the Rijksmuseum's Rijksstudio Award,[17] and the Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon Prize.[18] He talks and lectures globally on design, communication, marketing and branding. Most recently at Art Basel/Miami,[19] Marka 2017 in Istanbul,[20] Expo Revestir in São Paulo,[21] China Central Academy of Fine Arts and the V&A in London.[22] In October 2018 he curated a major design auction at Sotheby's in London.[23]
