[Sam Buxton has an eye for detail. Some people says he has two.]

The Story:

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Art’s design program in 1999, Sam Buxton had aspirations of designing experimental products using high tech materials. His designs were beautiful and functional but he was soon confronted with a difficult reality: he was hungry. Not so much for new challenges but rather for food. He soon focused on building his skills as a businessman and decided he needed a business card.

But of course Sam approached this need the same as he would a design problem. By deploying a chemical milling process he had discovered in the electronics industry, Buxton created a flat fine stainless steel card, the various parts of which unfolded into a 3-D self-portrait complete with office environment. When a manufacturer spotted it in the Design Museum’s 2001 exhibition “Design Now – London”, the business card was put into mass-production as the first in the series of MIKRO-Man fold-up sculptures.

[Elle Decor found Sam especially handsome and thus included a full body photograph in their magazine. His work was also featured in the always beautiful and prestigious Metropolis Magzine.]

The Mikro-House was originally an experiment, to construct a complete living unit from a single sheet. The essential elements of a kitchen, bathroom, lounge and bedroom all fold from a central cube measuring only 80mm high. After exhibiting the House at the Milan and Tokyo design fairs it was put into production to satisfy public demand. Our personal favorites features are the hairs in the bathtub and the handcuffs on the bed.

In the summer of 2003 Sam was commissioned by the Design Museum London to build an installation for the Tank: a 24-hour glass box exhibition space outside the museum. It became known as Mikro-City; a series of laser cut stainless steel buildings placed close to the glass, echoing the cityscape outside, housing populations of Mikro characters and repetitions of Mikro-Houses.

All of his hard work was recognized when in 2004 he was one of four designers short-listed for the Design Museums Designer of the Year award.

[Sam's work has been featured in the British publication, Design Week, and as a finalist for the Design Museum's Designer of the Year]

When we first contacted Sam and told him of our mission to give the story behind the product, he promptly sent us this interview he had given to Francesca Gavin of BBC Online. We didn't even have to ask. Thanks, Sam!

How do the MIKRO pieces fit in to the rest of the work you produce?

The Mikro designs are more to do with my interest in using industrial manufacturing techniques in new ways and the fun of creating these miniature theatrical scenes, than any obsession with folding. The folding is a means of engineering a flat card that transforms to a 3D form. So the connection to my other design work is through this exploration of manufacturing process and also an interest in exploring the quirks of modern life - there is a carefully considered editing of what objects and features are included in a design and of course what they depict.

Can you tell me about your influences and inspirations?

Art and Science are my biggest inspirations, the work of Tatsuo Miyjima and Louise bourgeois. Space exploration, astrophysics, DNA, medical intervention in the body...

There is something very fun and interactive about your work - are you consciously picking up on our desire to play?

On a research level I’m very interested in the body relationship to objects and spaces around us, the point at which the living body interacts with the inanimate furniture or surfaces. This led me to look at bringing the surfaces of objects alive, using display technology to make objects responsive and able to simply communicate. I’ve been exploring this concept in the series of object experiments called Surface Intelligent Objects [SIOS]. So many of these objects do involve the viewer in a more active way.

On another note I’ve come to realise that the human reaction to the work is really important, it’s a great feeling of satisfaction if people see something new and intriguing in the objects. The Mikro-City installation outside the Design Museum was a good example, I wanted to create a really engaging installation that people could explore on all sides. It seemed to appeal to all ages and to people with all levels of design experience.

How does the materials you use influence what you do?

I’m interested as I said in exploring industrial processes and new materials. Sometimes these materials are called future materials etc. but really it's all about context. I am only using materials and techniques that available now in the same way that aluminum in furniture was once a totally new application. Many of these materials have been developed decades before in military or aerospace applications and are just becoming economically accessible to designers now. I do like finding a process or material I haven't come across before and using it in new ways, sometimes very far from it's current application. That’s exciting for me and also makes an interesting collaboration for the manufacturer.

There's something innately human about the figures, spaces and scenarios you create. How does observation of real life influence what you do?

The Mikro series gives me great freedom of imagination to explore subjects and scenarios I find interesting. I wanted the Mikro miniatures to be snap shots of real life that people recognise, but to also cover subjects which other makers of miniatures such as Lego do not cover: everyday experiences. Hospital, office job, airport security, CCTV etc… It’s a chance for me to edit out of everyday life those elements I find unusual and totally contemporary.