Marc Newson Riga Table

With his sleek, glossy and dynamic designs, Marc Newson creates cutting-edge work that embodies notions of speed, luxury and progress. His work — be it his now-iconic Event Horizon table, an Italian speed boat, Nike shoes, or an Ikepod wristwatch — manifests a jet-set lifestyle redefined for the 21st century.

A Sydney native, Newson lived in Tokyo for several years and currently resides in London. He has created everything from furniture and jewelry to sneakers and dish racks. Given his globetrotting lifestyle, it’s easy to see why one of his best-known designs is the Lockheed lounge chair — a curvy, pod-shaped piece crafted from the same riveted aluminum that encases airplanes. You may also have spotted one of Newson’s many collaborations with luxury fashion houses — such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès — in a first-class departure lounge.

One of the most influential (and certainly one of the most prolific) industrial designers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Newson preaches the gospel of good design with messianic fervor. His work appears in dozens of museum collections around the world, and consistently fetches high prices at auction.

Newson has long been captivated by the space-age modernism of the early 1960s — indeed, his famed Embryo chair for Cappellini would fit right into the Jetsons’ living room. With such a long and impressive list of futuristic design bona fides, as you will see on these pages, Marc Newson is clearly a designer on the move.

Find vintage Marc Newson lounge chairs, tables and other furniture today on 1stDibs.

Choosing the perfect writing desk or writing table is a profoundly personal journey, one that people have been embarking upon for centuries.

Queen Atossa of Persia, from her writing table circa 500 B.C., is said to have been the originator of the art of handwritten letters. Hers was reportedly the first in a long and colorful history of penned correspondence that grew in popularity alongside literacy. The demand for suitable writing desks, which would serve the composer of the letters as well as ensure the comfort of the recipient naturally followed, and the design of these necessary furnishings has evolved throughout history.

Once people began to seek freedom from the outwardly ornate styles of the walnut and rosewood writing desks and drafting tables introduced in the name of Queen Victoria and King Louis XV, radical shifts occurred, such as those that materialized during the Art Nouveau period, when designers longed to produce furniture inspired by the natural world’s beauty. A prime example is the work of the famous late-19th-century Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí — his rolltop desk featured deep side drawers and was adorned with carved motifs that paid tribute to nature. Gaudí regularly combined structural precision with decorative elements, creating beautiful pieces of furniture in wood and metal.

Soon afterward, preferences for sleek, geometric, stylized forms in furniture that saw an emphasis on natural wood grains and traditional craftsmanship took hold. Today, Art Deco desks are still favored by designers who seek to infuse interiors with an air of luxury. One of the most prominent figures of the Art Deco movement was French decorator and furniture designer Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. With his use of neoclassical motifs as well as expensive and exotic materials such as imported dark woods and inlays of precious metals for his writing desks, Ruhlmann came to symbolize good taste and modernity.

The rise in appreciation for Scandinavian modernism continues to influence the design of contemporary writing desks. It employs the “no fuss” or “less is more” approach to creating a tasteful, sophisticated space. Sweden’s master cabinetmaker Bruno Mathsson created gallery-worthy designs that are as functional as they are beautiful. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto never viewed himself as an artist, but, like Mathsson, his furniture designs reflected a fondness for organic materials and a humanistic approach. Danish designers such as Hans Wegner introduced elegant shapes and lines to mid-century desks and writing tables, often working in oak and solid teak.

From vintage desks to contemporary styles, 1stDibs offers a broad spectrum of choices for conducting all personal and business writing and reading activities.