Design Anthology, Australia Edition

I recently stumbled upon a short piece of prose from Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations: ‘All things are in a process of change. You yourself are subject to constant alteration and gradual decay. So too is the whole universe.’ This made me reflect on the idea of homes. We’ve seen a wave of extensions, renovations, alterations and refurbishments in the last few years as we’ve all become intimately in tune with our living spaces, and those who can invest in making them more comfortable and customised to individual lifestyles have been busy doing just that. In this issue of Design Anthology, we’ve brought together five unique homes: an archetypal Melbourne industrial conversion by Rob Kennon, the calm quietude of a remodelled 60s home by Robert Davidov for his sister’s family, a church…

AWARDS The industry awards for the region’s design community, celebrating and showcasing high-calibre work by emerging and established designers design-anthology.com/awards SHOP A selection of Design Anthology back issues plus books and accessories, with worldwide shipping to wherever you are design-anthology.com/shop SUBSCRIBE Receive two issues a year plus our Milan Report, as well as access to the digital edition and exclusive invitations and discounts design-anthology.com/subscribe EVENTS Online and offline, we bring thought leaders together to explore the future of design and inspire the people making it happen design-anthology.com/events EMAIL The Dispatch is a collection of original stories from our globetrotting team delivered straight to your inbox each month design-anthology.com/dispatch ASIA EDITION Published in Hong Kong, Design Anthology Asia focuses on the wider region’s burgeoning creative landscapes design-anthology.com/asia PODCAST Take an international…

Canberra-based designers René Linssen and Elliot Bastianon established Furnished Forever in 2017 after meeting at a party the year before. The two instantly hit it off and realised that their skills were complementary: Linssen studied industrial design with a focus on production and commercial viability, while Bastianon studied design with a focus on making and material exploration. ‘We started talking and I realised René has some good skills that I don’t have,’ Bastianon says, and Linssen agrees, saying, ‘Elliot knows how things are made in the studio, but I’m more on the CAD side, the modelling. If I was doing this business with another industrial designer, it would’ve lacked that more hands-on approach.’ The pair got to know one another and then started discussing an idea for a stool; their…

MORNING With two physical studios and a range of projects in progress, for Gidon Bing there’s no typical start to the day — but ideally it begins in his waterfront studio, looking at the beautiful view with a cup of coffee. ‘I’m either straight out of the house with a coffee in my hand, problem solving or working on a ceramic project, or if things go the way I like them to go, I’m down in the waterfront studio. It faces east, so the mornings there are glorious,’ he says. Surrounded by native bush and birds, with panoramic sea views, the studio is housed in a dilapidated cottage in St Heliers Bay that has been refurbished by the studio and filled with custom furniture. Working alongside designers Dan Fennell and…

It was when Lindsey Wherrett was living in Japan for a short time as a newly graduated architect that her interest in ceramics grew into a passion and she eventually did something about it. ‘Shifting to ceramics gave me a more immediate connection to the materials and what feels like a more complete experience of the process from conception to creation,’ she explains. ‘It’s a much simpler and more focused practice, although my background in architecture has provided an excellent foundation in design.’ Born in Scotland, Wherrett studied architecture in Aberdeen and later at the University of Tasmania. She relocated to Hobart in 2006 and studied ceramics at TAFE for four years before establishing Lindsey Wherrett Ceramics. Today, from her studio in the Huon Valley, she creates all her works…

Operating from a former hosiery factory dating to the 1940s in Melbourne’s gritty Brunswick East, decorative lighting practice Volker Haug Studio is driven by curiosity and experimentation, with a skilled team of craftspeople — and some quirky resident dogs — coming together over the studio’s 18 years. From backgrounds as diverse as metalwork, industrial and furniture design, fine art, jewellery, data sciences and more, the team drives individualised outcomes that are pared back and playful in equal measure. The porous layout of the studio facilitates open collaboration between the production and assembly teams, with a central workshop for designing, sanding, finishing and wiring bordered by another workshop and packing space. Upstairs, a design office and showroom house an evolving array of lighting collections, open to industry members and the public…