om Karen, the man behind some of the UK’s most recognizable designs, has passed away at the age of 96.
Mr. Karen died peacefully on New Year’s Eve surrounded by his family.
He was managing director of Letchworth’s OGLE Design from 1962 to 1999.
During his tenure, he designed several famous ones British products – including the Raleigh Chopper bicycle, the three-wheeled Bond Bug vehicle and the children’s game Marble Run.
A retrospective of Tom Karen’s career is currently taking place at One Garden City in Letchworth.
City historian Josh Tidy, who curated the exhibit, said Mr Karen was “excited” about it.
“Tom was a real big one,” he said.
“I had the pleasure of meeting him several times over the past year, in putting together the exhibition celebrating his life and work, which will run until March 10 (we will have a condolence book on site, which we will pass on to his family).
“In retrospect, I am very happy that we were able to do the exhibition last year – as it turned out and as we feared. I know Tom was very happy with it, which makes me happy in this sad time.
In conversation with the Guardian, his daughter Eugenie said it was a “privilege” to have been close to “such a creative person”.
“He had such an extraordinary life and found such happiness during his last few decades at Cambridge,” she added.
Mr. Karen was born in Vienna in 1926, but settled in England during the war in 1942.
He was appointed in 2019 OBE at the New Year’s reception.
Looking back at Marble Run on his website, Mr. Karen called it “my most inspired creation”.
He said the idea came to him when he saw his children playing with a simple wooden marble run.
It occurred to me that if such a game could be made up of a number of components and put together in alternate ways to make a run, it would be an inviting test and end with a hugely satisfying reward,” he said.
He added: “I find it immensely rewarding to know that millions of children around the world have had endless fun playing with my marble run.”