Christopher Duffy’s path into design blends fine craft with playful illusion — from a life-changing art foundation in Newham to cabinet-making with master artisans, market stalls in Camden, and eventually founding Duffy London. Known for the Swing Table, Shadow Chair and Balloon Table, Chris shares how he builds concept-first pieces to a “99.9% finished” standard, why he kept his studio intentionally small, and how CAD and AI now supercharge visualisation, marketing, and iteration without losing the human hand.
In this episode of CreatED, Chris and Rob discuss:
The leap from sensible furniture to bold, viral statement pieces
How digital tools — from CAD to AI — accelerate prototyping and storytelling
The trade-offs between exclusivity, scale, and creative freedom
What young designers need today: tool fluency, build awareness, and entrepreneurial grit
A candid conversation about resilience, risk, and the future of making — with Rob Pepper and Chris Duffy.