Design, toys, and films: Unveiling the creativity of Richard Loncraine
Against the backdrop of ‘Swinging London’ they ran their design company above a rag and bone shop in Lots Road, Chelsea. In 1967, their first design was Ballrace, a stylish, desk-top chrome version of Newton’s Cradle, which quickly became the defining executive toy of the 1970s and 1980s.
Packaged in a clear acetate box with Newton’s Third Law of Motion printed in four languages on the lid, it had modern appeal and soon became a must-have for high-flying business people. By Christmas 1967, Ballrace was selling at Harrods’ trend-setting Way In department and was a fixture in London’s up-market gift shops and interior design showrooms.
Interestingly, to avoid the hefty 33.3% Purchase Tax on luxury goods, Ballrace was cleverly marketed as a “scientific toy”. While other versions of Newton’s Cradle existed, it was Loncraine’s elegant design—taking inspiration from Bauhaus-period furniture by Marcel Breuer—that truly captured the imagination.
Ballrace on screen
Loncraine Broxton’s Ballrace transcended the gift market to become a regular feature on film and TV sets. It’s been used as a relaxing diversion on the desks of characters such as Chuck Lumley (Henry Winkler) in Night Shift.
Other Newton’s Cradles have also appeared in the hands of film legends, from Dustin Hoffman’s character in Straw Dogs and Deputy White House Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) in The West Wing, to Paul Newman’s Sidney J. Mussburger in The Hudsucker Proxy, and even villains like Magneto in X-Men and the Kryptonians in Superman II.
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Hicks’ Hexagon officially licensed luxury rugs and runners, designed by David Hicks, as seen in The Shining Overlook Hotel
Designer: David Hicks
Film and Furniture
Directors: Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Mike Flanagan
Officially licensed Hicks’ Hexagon rugs and runners as seen in The Shining‘s Overlook Hotel (original design by David Hicks). High quality, custom made, hand tufted 1 ply wool. One of the most iconic carpets in film
Approx £1,570.00 – £7,344.00 / $2041
From toys to film props
Loncraine Broxton’s design work also attracted the attention of filmmakers. Director John Schlesinger, famous for Midnight Cowboy (1969), asked the duo to create sculptures and props for his film Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist, starring Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson.
Their creations for the film included a garden sculpture of slender glass tubes pulsing with coloured fluids and a Richard Nixon jukebox. Loncraine Broxton’s playful yet sophisticated vision also graced the Habitat showroom in Old Brompton Road, featured in a night scene in the film, with their Spring Stools and kinetic sculptures of clear acrylic columns containing chromed spheres moving in clear fluid.
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Loncraine Broxton Innovations and Executive Toys
As seen in:Designer: Richard Loncraine
If Loncraine Broxton’s designs captured your imagination as much as it did ours, you’ll be pleased to learn of new book Loncraine Broxton Innovations and Executive Toys, which brings together a huge range of their inventive products, with commentary by Richard Loncraine and Peter Broxton, telling the story of how they spent three decades devising unlikely ideas for products to amuse and delight.
A playful design legacy
From elegant kinetic sculptures and indoor games to whimsical creations like a giant match concealing a cigarette lighter, a pen disguised as a red mullet fish, and a double-sized deck chair, Loncraine Broxton had a unique ability to blend sophistication with playfulness.
Their liquid puzzles, such as the Mercury Maze, and witty home products became fixtures in homes—mine included. As a teenager, I spent hours playing with Mindbenders puzzles, and breakfast was served from their quirky Spring Egg Cups having no awareness then that the same minds connected all these objects. Their products characterised the mood of the 1980s, from stocking fillers to coveted design pieces.
Years later, their designs were still part of my life. At Form®, our London design and branding studio, we proudly displayed the Gladys Goose lamp, for which it turns out, Loncraine Broxton was the UK distributor. A memorable promotional photo for the lamp was created entirely in camera, well before Photoshop, on Westminster Bridge in front of Big Ben with dramatic rain effects and power supplied by their Winnebago mobile-home parked at the roadside.
The technical Oscar
Richard Loncraine’s creativity didn’t stop with product design or filmmaking. His invention of the first remote camera head earned him a technical Oscar, an industry-standard innovation used worldwide today.
A new chapter: The book
If their work has captured your imagination as much as it did mine, you’ll be excited to hear about the book Loncraine Broxton Innovations and Executive Toys out on 30th October. This beautifully compiled volume brings together three decades of their playful and inventive designs, with commentary from both Richard Loncraine and Peter Broxton, telling the fascinating story behind their whimsical yet ingenious creations.
Win the book!
To celebrate this launch, we’re offering a chance to win a copy of the book! Enter here by 15th November 2024 for a chance to bring this inspiring design history into your own home.
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