INTERV I EW
n a Victorian terraced house on a sleepy Cambridge cul- de-sac lives Tom Karen OBE, one of the most remarkable inventors and designers that Britain has ever seen. The imagination behind
childhood-defining toys such as the Raleigh Chopper and Marble Run, he’s now in his nineties, but his playful spirit show no signs of diminishing with age. He’s lived in this home since officially retiring some 20 years ago, surrounded by a menagerie of papier-mache birds, cardboard tigers, model cars, hand-drawn maps, postcards and other mementos and toys collected throughout a life full of creativity. “It’s a clutter of art and craft pieces and includes work by people I admire, who have talent and love what they are doing,” Tom says fondly of his rather chaotic living environment. “I will never tire of caressing them.” As well as some of the 1970s most famous toys, Tom was also the brains behind the Scimitar GTE, a trailblazing car with enduring cult appeal, and the Bond Bug – a two-seat, three-wheeled automobile adored by many and currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Stints of his career were spent with Ford and Hotpoint, but his most productive years were as head of Ogle Design, a pioneering design consultancy that he oversaw for almost four decades. From caravans to crash test dummies, his output was varied and prolific – so much so that the BBC described him as the ‘man that designed the 70s’ in coverage of an exhibition that featured his work at the Jewish Museum in London. This event turned out to be seminal for Tom, as it piqued the interest of Bonnier, a book publisher that gave him an opportunity to chronicle his extraordinary life. The result, Toymaker , was released last month, offering readers a charming, deeply personal glimpse into the world of a creative genius whose natural aptitude for design starkly contrasts his lifelong struggles with human relationships. It tells a story of fantastical imagination and dogged hard work; of being in the present while looking to the future, and of how the things that we accumulate can come to tell
IMAGES After many years of designing, inventing, crafting and collecting, Tom’s home is filled with colourful curios
the story of who we are. Whether focusing on much-loved toys or technical drawing apparatus, chapters take their inspiration from treasured items in Tom’s life, offering a reconstruction of his past “through the prism of physical souvenirs”. FROM WAR TO WONDER And what a remarkable life it’s been. Raised in Moravia (then Czechoslovakia) in the 1920s, his early years were spent in luxury. The family lived in a palatial villa with landscaped gardens, a swimming pool and a large staff – paid for by their thriving business making bricks and cement. But for all the trappings of wealth, it was not a happy family environment. His parents’ marriage was cold, and the siblings had no friends with which to enjoy typical childhood activities. It was during this period that Tom’s interest in design was sparked: “I could recognise 12 different makes of car at the age of two!” he says. “My nanny once won a bet over this. I loved their shape, and their sculptural quality. I don’t think I’d finished enjoying my childhood and my toys when we left our house in March 1939 because the German army came...”
The lavish lifestyle the family had been enjoying in Moravia came to an abrupt end when the Nazis crossed the border and invaded Czechoslovakia. As Jews, they knew they would be targeted and fled to Prague, with Tom allowed to bring just one of his toys on that life-changing journey. He chose a set of Waterline ships, which inspire an early chapter of the book. Still much missed, they were swapped for food when the ache of hunger became too much as the family fled across Europe. Another chapter is inspired by a flying pig in his kitchen, reminding him that ‘wild ideas are what makes life worth living’. This transports us to the moment of his arrival in England: the summer of 1942. His obsession with the shapes, designs and workings of things – particularly flying machines – led him to study aeronautical engineering at Loughborough University, which in turn found him work as a technical illustrator for the Air Registration Board. His heart wasn’t in it, but it taught him the principles of industrial design and rigorous attention to detail that would go onto shape his highly successful career in design. Another chapter is dedicated to
“I could recognise 12 different makes of car at the age of two”
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