Loncraine & Broxton: When British Design Was Play, Cinema and Experimentation
Between the late 1960s and the 1990s, British design went through a period of extraordinary creative freedom. It was in this context that Loncraine & Broxton emerged—a studio capable of blending kinetic objects, humour, pop culture and visual experimentation, leaving behind a legacy that is now highly prized by collectors and lovers of vintage design.
1969: Design, the BBC and the Moon Landing
In 1969, while the world was watching the Moon landing, Richard Loncraine was busy directing films for Tomorrow’s World, the BBC’s renowned science and technology programme. It was at this moment that he invited Peter Broxton to join him in developing what they jokingly called the “toy business.”
Thus Loncraine Broxton (LB) was born, officially launching in the summer of 1969. With no working capital, the two designers relied heavily on sales of one object that would soon become iconic: the Ballrace, a structure of suspended chrome spheres now widely known as the Newton’s Cradle. Ballrace sales provided the vital cash flow needed to finance new ideas, experiments and production.
Their guiding principle was clear and radical in its simplicity:
“Good design — and it must be FUN!”
A motto that would become the hallmark of all LB creations.
Desk Toys and Sculptures in Motion
In the early 1970s, from their studio in Soho Square, London, Loncraine & Broxton developed a distinctive range of kinetic objects, executive toys and desk sculptures that defied traditional categorisation. They were not merely gadgets, yet not remote pieces of art either—they were objects meant to be touched, moved and explored.
This period saw the creation of pieces such as Desk Mobile, Oscillation, Pendulation, Steel Spray, and Stick-Stack, all united by a refined formal simplicity and an intelligent use of industrial materials: steel, glass, acrylic and coloured fluids.
Loncraine & Broxton in Cinema
The visual language of LB soon caught the attention of the film world. John Schlesinger, the Oscar-winning director of Midnight Cowboy (1969), invited Loncraine & Broxton to create sculptures and props for his new film Sunday Bloody Sunday, starring Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson.
LB’s proposals were bold and visionary: – a Richard Nixon jukebox, – and a garden sculpture made of dozens of thin transparent glass tubes, pulsing with coloured liquids.
For a striking night scene, the Habitat showroom on Old Brompton Road was dressed with LB Spring Stools, displayed alongside transparent acrylic columns containing chrome spheres moving through clear fluid. The result was futuristic, hypnotic and perfectly aligned with the experimental design language of the era.
The 1980s: Humour, Fluids and Iconic Objects
During the 1980s, Loncraine & Broxton expanded their creative universe even further with liquid puzzles, playful keys and witty sculptural objects such as Champagne, Perrier and L’eau Key. These pieces played with physics, time and perception, turning everyday gestures into visual experiences.
Their design remained accessible but never banal—a rare balance between experimentation and commercial production.
A Legacy That Still Feels Contemporary
Loncraine & Broxton ceased trading in 1997, partly due to financial missteps and a saturated market. Yet today, their work feels more relevant than ever.
For lovers of British vintage design, LB represents a philosophy that merges intelligence, playfulness and pop culture. These are objects that ask not only to be looked at, but to be handled, set in motion and discovered.
In a screen-dominated world, the creations of Loncraine & Broxton remind us that design can still surprise—through simplicity, humour and a touch of mechanical magic.
