A Well-Groomed Fox
Partners in love and design, Emma Fox Derwin and Nigel Groom are a well-suited pair. Both born and bred Wellingtonians, they bonded over their coursework in industrial design, before eventually moving in together. Their apartment helped inspire a design piece that took them to the other side of the world in January, as finalists in the D3 Talent competition at the 2010 IMM Cologne design fair.
After graduating from his design degree in 2006, Groom started working in sales. “Emma’s clothing had filled up the wardrobe, and the bedroom floor isn’t the best place for a suit,” he remembers. Inspired by a traditional gentlemen’s valet that they had seen in a hotel during a trip to Macau, the pair began designing their X, Y and Z Suit Rack under their label Well Groomed Fox, “a response to a gentlemen’s valet but in a modern sense.” The 3-D wall-mounted rack fits their aesthetic of pieces that are minimal but not generic, with elements that reveal themselves through use.
“We also like a bit of humour,” says Fox Derwin. “Design should be fun, it should be something that’s enjoyable for the maker but also for the person who owns it. It should be about making things people love, even in a small way.”
The pair entered the suit rack for competition at IMM Cologne last August, and promptly forgot about it. Months later, Groom was asleep in bed one night when a string of exclamations erupted from the office where Fox Derwin was up late working. Leaping up to see what was wrong, Groom discovered she had just opened an email notifying them of their place in the final.
Now the pair is off to this year’s Milan Satellite Salone to launch their first product range of furniture and ceramic pieces, based on Fox Derwin’s thesis collection. She says, “It will be based around the theme of lounging and high tea” – another classic pairing. Melinda Williams
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