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The homegrown talent headed to Milan's Salone del Mobile design fair
By Karen McCartney
Next week, 26 Australians will show at Milan’s Salone del Mobile, part of an exhibition conceived, curated and staged by Sydney designer Emma Elizabeth. It’s the third year she’s taken local talent to the world’s most prestigious design fair, and her largest posse yet. Here are our favourites.
Chair by Jonathan Zawada in collaboration with VELA Life.
JONATHAN ZAWADA Skilfully blurring the lines between art and design, Jonathan Zawada has created this chair in collaboration with VELA Life and fabric house Kvadrat Maharam. It is soft yet assertive, bold and playful, with a 1970s vibe that reveals Zawada's interest in graphics. ZAWADA.ART; VELA.LIFE
"Bloom" cabinet by Adam Goodrum and Arthur Seigneur.
ADAM GOODRUM + ARTHUR SEIGNEUR
A tour de force of colour, pattern and texture, this show-stopping art piece is the result of a collaboration between furniture and product designer Adam Goodrum and straw marquetry artisan Arthur Seigneur. Suggestive of an open lotus flower, their "Bloom" cabinet is made up of 1400 sections of hand-tinted French rye straw. ADAMGOODRUM.COM; ARTHURSEIGNEUR.COM
The Sagitine shoe system.
SAGITINE The inclusion of shoe and accessories storage brand Sagitine highlights the broad church Emma Elizabeth – founder of online gallery Local Design – is striving to represent in Milan. For its exhibit, Sagitine has partnered with Andrew Simpson of Vert Design to stretch its shoe system into a tall stack. Graduating colour has been used to complete the transition from utilitarian object to contemporary art piece. SAGITINE.COM
Chair by John Goulder.
JON GOULDER Fourth-generation furniture maker Jon Goulder is creative director of the furniture studio in Adelaide's JamFactory. Working in Tasmanian oak and blackwood, with an experimental pickling technique developed in conjunction with retailer Fiona Spence, he's created this crafted range comprising a console, dining chair, side table, coffee table, credenza and lounge chair. JONGOULDER.COM; SPENCEANDLYDA.COM.AU
Screen by Nicholas Fuller.
NICHOLAS FULLER Adelaide-based designer Nicholas Fuller grew up playing with lathes and milling machines in his father's workshop. The practicalities of construction in hand, he trained at the Australian National University School of Art & Design and later the JamFactory in Adelaide. His "Voyage" series comprises adjustable woven screens inspired by boat sails. NICHOLASFULLER.COM.AU
ANNA VARENDORFF
Sculpture by Anna Varendorff.
The tubular brass vases of Melbourne-based metalsmith and artist Anna Varendorff were selected by Wallpaper* magazine as the best drawing room objet d'art at last year's Salone del Mobile. Varendorff has this year extended the idea into brass sculpture. While retaining the essence of their predecessors, these conceptual pieces play with more complex geometries. ACVSTUDIO.COM
Light by Henry Wilson.
HENRY WILSON With a stellar education at the ANU School of Art & Design, Rhode Island School of Design in the US and Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands, it's no wonder Henry Wilson is good at what he does. He's showing a new series of wall lights and up-lights in bronze and stone that are typically sculptured, meticulous and restrained. HENRYWILSON.COM.AU
Detail from a hall runner designed by Emma Elizabeth.
EMMA ELIZABETH Trained in Milan before setting up practice in Australia, Emma Elizabeth's contribution to the Salone del Mobile this year is a continuation of her "Natural Progressions" range for Sydney retailer Designer Rugs. It's a hall runner to guide visitors into the show. EMMAELIZABETHDESIGNS.COM
Tom Skeehan’s “Nave” chairs.
TOM SKEEHAN Skeehan Studio, based in Canberra, designs furniture and lighting to be manufactured in Australia. Founder Tom Skeehan's "Nave" chairs have a slender, tubular form and generous upholstered cushions, while the new SO light is a hand-blown, limited-edition desk lamp. SKEEHAN.COM.AU
FRED GANIM The intuition of a designer and the skill of a craftsman combine in this ebonised European oak piece by Fred Ganim. The low, sinuous "Plane" table illustrates both Ganim's mastery of traditional joinery techniques and ability to think beyond the domestic, using scale and shape to reveal a more art-based bias. FREDGANIM.COM
"Plane" table by Fred Ganim.