The Elliptical Collection

It is a common misconception that the Earth circles the Sun, always the same distance away and always travelling at the same speed. In fact, our orbit is elliptical and when we are close to the Sun, we travel faster.

The ellipse is a fundamental element of the laws of physics that hold our Solar System together and make our existence possible.

All planets travel in ellipses around the Sun, and moons travel in ellipses around their respective planets.

Inspired by this simple yet vital shape, Dr John C Taylor OBE FREng has created The Elliptical Collection, a set of crockery and glassware with a design based on the ellipse.

Elliptical Collection

“The ellipse is a particularly significant natural shape – our elliptical orbit holds us in the Solar System and ensures that we don’t simply float off into space.”

www.johnctaylor.com office@johnctaylor.com +44 1624 828 880

“We are living in the greatest age of technology and innovation that the world has ever seen and it occurred to me that it was a shame that all tableware is made to the same conventional, circular design.

“I’ve always said that there’s no sense complaining about something unless one is willing to make a difference, so I took it upon myself to make tableware that breaks the mould.

“The thought behind the Elliptical Collection was to make something fun, and perhaps a little odd, whilst exposing the natural elegance of the ellipse.”

The glasses are hand-blown in Norfolk and the fine bone-

Just as Dr Taylor pays homage to the simplicity of physics

white ceramic ware, made in Stoke-on-Trent, is made using a

with his Elliptical Collection, he pays tribute to the

custom-built mould and setter.

complexity of nature with his Plum Blossom Wall Lights.

The rejection of conventional circular design creates an

A creation of gold, silver and hand-patinated copper, it

organic shape that is naturally easy on the eye. There is also,

was enamelled by the same jeweller who worked on the

however, a practical benefit – an elliptical glass sits more

Corpus Chronophage and the Dragon Chronophage.

comfortably in the hand than a circular one.

Each flower is handmade and no two are the same.

Bold yet understated, the Elliptical Collection is testament to the strength of simple design and the enduring talent

The external beauty is clear – what is more subtle is the

of Dr Taylor.

inner complexity that makes these lights unique.

A masterpiece of electronics allows each individual wall light to be controlled independently. The LEDs can shine in any colour of the spectrum, and can be preprogrammed to perform fantastic light shows.

In addition to the glassware, there is an extraordinary elliptical table.

The lights exhibit practical as well as artistic innovation: each LED can be replaced. Dr Taylor and his team know of no other product that can do this.

the overlapping ellipses around it are reminiscent of the orbits of the planets in the Solar System. It seats twelve, or eighteen with the addition of extra sections.

Designed in Arragon Mooar, the elliptical country house that Dr Taylor built for himself on the Isle of Man, these distinctive pieces are the product of a consuming passion.

Dr John C Taylor is a true renaissance man with a remarkable range of talents. He is, amongst other things, an inventor, designer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and pilot.

He was born in 1936 in Buxton, Derbyshire, and attended school on the Isle of Man before studying Natural Sciences at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

In 1999, following a hugely successful career in which he invented the cordless kettle and amassed over 400 patents, Dr Taylor retired from his company Strix.

However, an inventive mind is impossible to switch off and Dr Taylor soon designed his own elliptical country house on the Isle of Man. Continuing his passion for elliptical design, Dr Taylor created the Elliptical Collection, alongside his work on

The table’s distinctive pattern centres on a sun-like figure, and

About Dr John C Taylor OBE FREng

the famed Chronophage series, a set of giant mechanical “Some of history’s greatest minds have shared my passion for the ellipse – first Euclid, the Ancient Greek mathematician, and then, famously, Johannes Kepler, the seventeenth century astrologer.”

clocks featuring mythical creatures.