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Strictly speaking, Melbourne International Design Festival event Design:Made:Trade is an “industry” affair, enabling up-and-coming and independent designers to network, secure retail and export deals, and raise their profiles.
But it’s a consumer-friendly event, and it’s likely there were just as many home owners seeking design inspiration [or stylish focal points to match their sofas and carpets] as there were industry players passing through the doors of Carlton’s Royal Exhibition Building from July 17 – 20.
Echoing the fashion industry’s fixation on eco-friendly and sustainable elements, a common thread amongst exhibitors was the use of industrial materials [whether pre-loved or not] to make objects with simplified, pared-back forms.
Much of the furniture on display featured sharp lines, minimal forms and bright colour palettes – exhibitors like Peter Mclisky Sculpture and Rock Martin upheld the mantra “less is more” with their stools and tables stencil-cut from sheet metal. Such pieces would be just as suited to indoor or outdoor use, but their aesthetics might prove challenging for a home with less-than-warehouse dimensions.
Melbourne’s Studio Sam [formerly I Am Sam] provided one of the show’s most novel [excuse the pun] designs – concertina screens made from recycled hard-back book covers. Designer Samantha Parsons obviously grows attached to her handmade screens; they’re customised to clients’ colour preferences and usually end up being referred to by their own first name. Shorter screens [with fewer books in height] can serve as desk partitions – offering a much more attractive option than what you’d usually find in open-plan offices. If you’re questioning the sustainability of only using the covers of books, Studio Sam has it sorted. Their bookblock tables are constructed from leftover pages which are folded in and secured to make sturdy weight-bearing stools.
Art with high design principals often lacks heart and soul, but Sydney’s Studio Oat creates inspiring designs that would suit any room of the house. Graphic designer Hoang Nguyen’s simple style might initially reference nature and children’s drawings but they have a deeper resonance towards spirituality and environmental issues. His series of trees, elephants and dandelions in different colour schemes, representing the changing seasons, would make a more subtle and intelligent decoration for a baby’s nursery than anything in pink or blue.
If Design:Made:Trade had an overarching theme, it’s that form need not be sacrificed for function; that startling, breathtaking forms can be crafted to provide the most practical, everyday uses. Melbourne industrial designer Marc Pascal’s range of handmade lighting products elevates lamps from home “accessories” to sculpted artworks. The organic forms of his floor lamps resemble futuristic corsets, woven from hand-dyed polycarbonate strips that throw shards of colour around a room. His lampshades are sensual and surreal, allowing light to float and bounce, which has the affect of transforming and empowering an otherwise mundane interior.
For home owners looking for furniture and design ideas, an afternoon at Design:Made:Trade offered an enlightening alternative to traipsing around furniture showrooms, where “trade” is more of a concern than “designing” and “making”. Discuss a custom project with an exhibitor [your colour, your room dimensions] and you’ll never want to shop at Freedom again.
By Megan Gannon