"Tom Deacon emerged as a pre-eminent designer of contract seating in the 1990s, introducing warmth and style to corporate office furniture.

Deacon graduated from the University of Toronto School of Architecture in 1982. After practising for one year, he chose furniture design as a career. Deacon, with Lee Jacobson, founded the Toronto furniture manufacturer Area Design Inc. in 1984, producing Le Corbusier’s 1928 Grand Confort seating. With this hands- on manufacturing experience, the company expanded to produce his own designs and others by new Canadian talent like Jonathan Crinion. Deacon’s first design to receive critical acclaim was the York Chair (1987).

Deacon withdrew from Area Design Inc. in 1989 to focus on design. Among his freelance clients were the American Bernhardt Furniture Company (the Studio chair, 1993) and Nienkamper (the Cirrus table, 1992). He also designed the Vector compact disc shelf for CSL, Toronto (1992). He continues to design for AREA on a royalty basis, including the Promenade chair (1993) and has a gentlemen's agreement to design office furniture exclusively for Keilhauer. The Deacon (1989) is Tom Deacon's first chair for the company, and it helped to launch both designer and manufacturer into the international arena. The Tom chair (1997), also for Keilhauer, is his best selling chair."