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100 DECORATIVE & DESIGN / LIGHT ART Photographs: Bill Kingston


design file FUN BOY BY SEA


In the centenary of the birth of neon we talk to one man whose passion for the medium knows no bounds. In fact he lives with it every day.


Now aged 48, Philip Oakley has worked as an interior designer for the past twenty years, with a spell at Blackpool Illumina- tions six years ago. Working primarily in fashion retail with numerous small brands such as Richard James, Start, Natural Selec- tion and Tommy Guns, Oakley was known for his quirky style bringing obscure and fun objects into the design process. Then, two years ago he decided on a complete lifestyle change by buying a pub in the quirky seaside town of St Leonards- on-Sea on the south coast of England in East Sussex. But it’s not what you think (but perhaps you’ve guessed looking at the pictures)...


“The pub (Admiral Benbow) had a reputa- tion as the roughest in town and was closed


after 176 years of business. It was in need of refurbishment but not suited to develop- ing into flats, but leant itself to a live / work set up. The building is 6,500 square feet and allowed for living accommodation, showroom, workshop, office and storage to be created; every designers dream surely!” Eventually he sold his flat in London to consolidate accommodation and business in St Leonards on Sea whilst retaining custom- ers in London. This meant a move away from interior design to product design as the commute didn’t lend itself to more than one or two trips into London per week. Oakley’s products, like his interior design, reflects his unconventional taste in art pieces and his career at Blackpool Illumina- tions is clearly an influence.


“Over many years I’d amassed a collec- tion of old neon, fairground lights and the Illuminations. Anyone visiting my flat in London would be mesmerised by these huge lights with fairly low tech controllers made for two or three thousand watts of light and heat. Everyone wanted a bit of this fairground magic in their home but I was reluctant to sell them my vintage lights, so after moving into the pub I began producing more user friendly versions of the lights us- ing a mixture of neon, tungsten and LED. Has he found it hard to persuade people that these pieces would look good in their homes?


“As an interior designer I often found people to have very conservative taste, and slightly scared of my nutty ideas and what


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