Congratulations on the award
Thanks, the night was great fun. I was just about to get tucked into my second bottle of wine when Richard Moss said 'I shouldn't have too much to drink if I were you, you're here for the award,' and it all fell into place. I was massively surprised.

Would you have preferred not have been told beforehand?
No, it gave me 10 minutes to think of something to say. I was pleased I wasn't caught on the hop. Somebody had to bring it back to reality with clients being there. They were the ones paying for the drinks.

Did you enjoy the evening?
Yes, it's kind of like a party with so many people there you haven't seen for ages. It was a case of 'God I haven't seen you since we didn't shave.'

Anything we could do to improve the event?
Yes, you could get my daughter to sing - she's brilliant, and drop dead gorgeous too, so I'm led to believe. Maybe you, me and Andrew could form a quartet with her?

Moving swiftly on, you also helped with our judging, what do you say to those who think it's all fixed?
I had to go to some pains to explain to people that I was sorry that the British contingent won both international categories, and I agree it was something of a fix - we fixed it so the best one would win! Perhaps politically it would have been better if it had been a foreigner but there we are. It didn't look good. Maybe there should be a category for designers outside the UK. Quite frankly our designers don't need to win the international one if they win the UK one. But it's rather nice for the international ones to be seen to be winning an award outside their country.

Why do you think the awards are important?
We must keep reminding people that designing furniture is an art, not just another bit of business. You won't get anywhere unless you put some feeling into it and give people a cosy sensation. It's all very well looking from the outside at a minimalist environment, but to live in one? No, I want to live in a maximalist one, I want more friends.

But isn't the trend towards minimalism?
You see the march of minimalism in the magazines, but go round to people's houses, do you see it there? The money is being spent at the maximalist end of the market. People want to feel affirmed by their furniture and cosseted. They don't want a house that says, 'don't put your shopping there, put it in the cupboard.' I want more love, laughter, fun and friendship. I want more richness in my life, not more wealth but more texture and contrast, more peace, more excitement. I don't want less, less, less. Minimalism is fashionable but it doesn't bring much with it.

Will people ever turn against the minimal look?
I don't think so. It's now a developed style, and it's perfectly valid. I just don't like it where it becomes too extreme. The father of it was Le Corbusier, but he was a very colourful character. Architectural travesties have been perpetrated on our cities in his name. It's fine to ape him but you've got to ape the humanity in his work as well, and that's what they didn't do. They sold style down the river for the sake of economy. It's dehumanising and it's brutal and if you put people in a brutal environment you get brutal people. They should f*cking wake up.

So which designers do you admire?
Philippe Starck and Wayne Hemmingway. In terms of quality of design and ability to communicate, Hemmingway is head and shoulders above the rest.

Any up-and-coming talent?
Someone I have great admiration for is Jo Sampson from Black sheep. She's obviously extremely decorative and very talented.

How much has the industry changed over your 30 years?
It's so much more professional now. There was a time when the kitchen manufacturer and installer was looked at in the same way as a double glazer and flat roofer - with a smoking gun on each hip. We're well away from that image now. We have people working for us who have PhDs. If you want the best go to someone who specialises. It's like a GP, he doesn't profess to be an expert in every angle. Architects will get their fingers burnt if they try to play in our field.

But is there a need for more formal design training?
Yes, something along the lines of what the Americans offer. Their training is much more overt and maybe we need to do that ourselves. Maybe we need to bring them on board to help us.

What are you working on at the moment?
I'm doing a lot of sculpture but furniture will come out of that. I work in an eclectic fashion. My inspiration is from standing on the shoulders of giants, from the genius of others. To be influenced by others and to become infused by the beauty of their thoughts is not to be aping them mindlessly but to pay homage.

Is there too much foreign influence in British design?
We're influencing the world more than they're influencing us. I recognise my influence wherever I go in Europe and America. The English genre is very respected in Europe, as is the Italian, as is the German. They're three distinct fields.

Anything that really gets you down about the industry?
The lack of a specific training base, not just for designers but installers, tilers, stonemasons... There's an avenue for developing that. We're missing a trick because it's a multi million pound business. We need to give clients what they want, sort absolutely everything out for them. 

What do you make of the various industry bodies?
Personally I think the KMA should come under the umbrella of the British Furniture Manufacturers Association and be encouraged to run with it. I wouldn't want to comment on the KBSA because it could be libellous.

Where do you see yourself in the future?
I just have so much to do, I'm not sure I have enough life left to do it. I've got a million things to do, I want to do a lot more sculpting, I want to understand the history of art a lot better, I'd like to learn some languages. Getting older is such a frustration because there's so much to do.