AO Journal

Finding the Unique and Inventive: Cox London

London has long been at the epicenter of design as well as a major force on the art and antique scene. From the classic Staffordshire and chintz-filled interiors of English Country Style made popular in the 80s and 90s to today’s more contemporary cutting edge looks, the city remains one of the world’s most prestigious design capitals. 

Art, design, interiors, and furnishings meet at the Pimlico Road Design District where you can find the home of one of the city’s more intriguing and unique retail showrooms. Started by husband and wife sculptors and artisans Christopher and Nicola Cox, their namesake showroom has become the go-to spot for sculptural lighting artwork and furniture since its opening in 2017. The couple met in the early 90s where they studied sculpture in art school and eventually built a foundry in their “cab drivers” garage which led to an industrial unit in Tottenham Hale that now serves as a workshop, studio and houses their larger pieces. A shared love of decorative arts coupled with Christopher Cox’s gene pool - three generations of antique dealers, artists and restorers – proves this was a business that was meant to be.

Today Cox London is a virtual treasure trove of items giving new meaning to the term unique. “We specialize in all things metal,” he says of the business built around his wife’s bronze casting expertise (think wrought iron, bronze, and silver). “Our metalwork is frequently complemented with stone, glass, and wood, and our signature designs are our Oakleaf chandeliers which have adorned traditional and contemporary spaces and our Contemporary Ferro Vitro lighting installations, versions of which have recently adorned The Arts Club in London, a Beach House in Hawaii and a modernist stairwell in Australia.” Other interesting finds include everything from a chandelier design of hand-pulled glass leaves (known as The Polypore), and an abstract post-war inspired Bronze Fawn Chair to a distinctive stone and steel Alchemist Table and circular Ivory Venetian Glass Mirror.

It is fitting Cox London is located on the storied Pimlico location as Christopher details, “The flamboyant antique dealers that made it a destination for the trade, we hail as heroes and legends. George Bennison breathed a new life into country house chic and a whole lot more. He inspired a generation of dealers who defied conventional notions of style and taste, chasing down the unique, the over-sized, and the thrilling pieces that gave Pimlico its name. It was with great reverence to the past that Nicky and I resolved (that) it was the only place we’d ever want to tout our version of unique.”