The first piece by John Crichton we ever found was a mosaic tile dish. We loved the imaginative use of colour, confident use of texture and memorable modernist form. It’s a lasting piece that describes the mid-century colour palette. After finding forty or so of these mosaic pieces, we’re still intrigued.
Opening some of the smaller pieces that have arrived with us wrapped in a parcel has always been a special, mysterious moment of unveiling the details of condition and hoping that a label remains intact on the base for its future owner to have that full record of history, sixty years on.
Perhaps what’s most impressive is how prolific designer John Crichton was. Along with his work in design he is also well known as an interior designer, including work for ocean liners. From his retail store in Kitchener Street, Auckland Crichton designed and sold furniture, lighting and objects and collaborated with artisans including the Blind Institute to produce his unique pieces.
During the 1950s and 60s, Crichton's furniture, lighting and homeware designs were selected for inclusion in leading international design publications such as Decorative Art: The Studio Year Book of Furnishing and Decoration, which has since been republished by Taschen. Today, the strong following in Crichton's work continues to strengthen as examples are included in major museum collections. We think you will love his work as much as we do!