Garden Wall installation + NGV Triennial

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By Penny Craswell

Visiting the National Gallery of Victoria during Melbourne Design Week and the NGV Triennial of Art and Design last month, I was struck by the investment in design, architecture and art that is currently ongoing at the NGV, and the NGV Architecture Commission, now in its third year, is a case in point.

“Garden Wall” by Retallack Thompson and Other Architects, NGV Architecture Commission. Photo: John Gollings

Designed by Retallack Thompson and Other Architects, this year’s installation / architectural insertion is called “Garden Wall” and features a simple white fence that runs 250 metres and divides the garden into a series of “rooms” – each rectangular and permeable due to the perpendicular, semi-transparent character of its mesh walls. Read more →

Object Stories: Potter DS Lights by Bruce Rowe

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By Penny Craswell

Designed by Bruce Rowe from Melbourne’s Anchor Ceramics, the Potter DS is a series of lights made by hand in the studio using traditional pottery techniques.

Potter DS wall light designed by Bruce Rowe of Anchor Ceramics. Photos: Haydn Cattach taken for Rakumba Lighting

A simple vertical cylinder of clay forms the wall format of the Potter DS, with a subtle indentation in its body giving it the appearance of having two segments. A slit provides an opening to the light source within that glows against the wall behind. Read more →

Watermelon Sugar digital art by Pamm Hong

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By Penny Craswell

Singapore-based designer Pamm Hong spoke at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences as part of the Sydney Design Festival earlier this month.

Watermelon Sugar by Pamm Hong, Sydney Design Festival


A digital artist whose work spans design, technology and science, Hong’s latest work, Watermelon Sugar, is a digital artwork created through a scientific approach to data collection. Read more →

Review: Little Bonny’s chicken shop

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By Penny Craswell

A French-style interior in a chicken shop and cafe in Sydney uses layered geometries to create an inviting space for diners. Interior design studio Luchetti Krelle were appointed to bring a fresh and modern take on the classic Australian chicken shop in this suburban shopping mall in Menai in Sydney’s South.

Little Bonny's chicken shop by Luchetti Krelle. Chairs by Design by Them. Read more on The Design Writer
Little Bonny’s chicken shop by Luchetti Krelle. Chairs by Design by Them. Photo: Anson Smart

Their approach makes use of a variety of textures and colours layered to create a sense of elegance that is also calm and inviting. Concrete, terrazzo, timber and copper all feature in this interior, with bespoke lighting, joinery and upholstery adding to the character of the space. A white backdrop is given depth thanks to pale pink, navy blue, duck egg green and warm mustard yellow. Read more →

Object stories: Beraking table by Jack Flanagan

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By Penny Craswell

This unusual design replaces traditional table legs with three large balls that allow the table to roll across the floor. Perth furniture designer Jack Flanagan was inspired by ball bearings, and in particular by the spherical stones that make up the gravel roads in Western Australia and create a slippery surface for rally car drivers.

Beraking table by Jack Flanagan. Photo: Toby Peet. Image: The Design Writer
Beraking table by Jack Flanagan. Photo: Toby Peet

“[These stones are] completely unique to the south west of Western Australia,” Flanagan explains. “I was interested in the way in which, when driven on, it becomes very slippery due to the spherical stones rolling over the hard compact base. I became well experienced with this sensation in my past as a rally driver.” Read more →

The history of violet: Artificial Regality by Naama Agassi

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By Penny Craswell

The history of the colour purple has led to its high value prior to synthetic production, meaning it has had long associations with royalty, the church and power. This is the subject of designer Naama Agassi’s latest colour research, called Artificial Regality.

Imperial Purple by Naama Agassi. Photo: Talia Rosin

According to Agassi: “In the past, the purple was a coveted colour used to denote wealth and power. This is because until it became artificially manufactured, its production was a lengthy and laborious task. It took as many as 250,000 snails to yield just one ounce of usable dye. As always in design, supply and demand generate desire and prestige. Read more →

January reading list: Design and architecture

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By Penny Craswell

January is an excellent time of year to catch up on reading, including those design and architecture books you accumulated during the year but didn’t have time to read, or those you were given for Christmas. Here’s my list.

My January reading list, 2018, Penny Craswell, The Design Writer
My January reading list, 2018

Hello World by Alice Rawsthorn (2013)

At 288 pages, this is a book that can be read straight through like a novel, or dipped into as you like. With chapters like “What is design?” and “Why design is not – and should never be confused with – art”, the book addresses the basics of design in a style that is both straightforward and instantly engaging, but Rawsthorn’s examples are its true strength. Her journalism background means she draws from every element of life, describing, for example, how the pirate flag was an example of early communication design (page 29-30). Thought-provoking reading. Also don’t forget, her new book Design as an Attitude is out this year. Read more →

Object stories: Botanical planter screen by Helen Kontouris

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By Penny Craswell

It seems that us city-dwellers have gone crazy for all things green over the last couple of years, and Melbourne designer Helen Kontouris has responded with an inspired take on the screen that also acts as a planter, creating curtains of vertical greenery that will suit the smallest interior space or balcony.

Wattle, Acacia and Banksia Botanical planter screens by Helen Kontouris for LEN Furniture. Image: supplied

Designed for LEN Furniture, the  Botanical Planter Screen is self-watering and suits climbing plants, with only one plant per screen required for the full effect – you can even plant climbing vegetables like tomatoes, passionfruit or snow peas.  Read more →

Top 10: Ethical gift guide

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By Nicky Lobo

This year’s Ethical gift guide, which once again highlights the work of designers whose work is sustainable, socially inclusive, charitable or otherwise ethical, has been put together with the help of Nicky Lobo and Jess Noble from The Good Outfit, an ethical fashion news source “without all the beige”. Thank you Nicky and Jess for this stellar list of items, all of which are available now to help you make your Christmas shopping an all-good affair.

Mithila bag. Image: Ashira and Kin


1. If your present wrapping usually makes people cry on Christmas Day, Ashira and Kin has a solution that will put you in a new light. This brand-new Sydney-based collective aims to ‘explore diversity; educate and empower makers and consumers; and encourage intercultural exchange’ by bringing products from artisans, makers and designers across Nepal and The Philippines to Australia. These LOK-TA reusable gift bags and wine bags are crafted in ethically grown and sourced handmade LOK-TA paper made from the local Nepalese Daphne plant. Adding panache to the paper, original artworks preserve and celebrate painting traditions that have been passed down through generations of women in the Mithila regions. Read more →

Review: Alleyway bar, Sydney

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By Penny Craswell

Alleyway is a new micro whiskey bar tucked in a laneway behind 200 George Street in the centre of Sydney. Interior designers Angela Biddle and Shehani Kumarasinghege from Scott Carver had to make use of every millimetre in a tiny space with a width of only three metres.

Alleyway, with bottle shelving made of apple crates, interiors by Scott Carver. Photo: Luc Remond

Everywhere you look in this little spot, there is an interesting detail or pattern. Recycled Tea Grey timber was used for the bar front, contrasted with Bronze Verdigris metal finish for the bar serving ledge – this will patina with time. Read more →