christmas Archives - The Design Writer

Wooden tree for a good cause

December 13, 2018January 1, 2023despc

Design duo Jonathan Biet and Sophie Bain from So Watt in Sydney’s Marrickville have put out a beautiful timber Christmas tree decoration this year that also supports a good cause.

So Watt Smith Family Christmas Tree. Image: Supplied

The So Watt Smith Family Plywood Christmas Tree features a simple slot-together design paired with the quality of a beautifully-finished Birch Plywood. It works well as an ornament to complement your main tree, or can serve as a small Christmas tree with lights for those of us who sometimes prefer a more minimal Christmas. Read more →

Top 10: Ethical design gift guide

November 30, 2016January 1, 2023despc

By Penny Craswell

Design isn’t just about aesthetics, and to prove it, this ethical gift guide lists a few of the many designers and brands now donating to charity or committed to ethical practices. So, read on, this is your chance to give back this holiday season – not just to families and friends, but also to those in need.

ollie — The Pretty Fly pin by Annie Hamilton. Photo: supplied

1. Increasingly, community-minded makers and sellers are donating a portion of their profits to charities. Sydney-based multi-disciplinary designer Annie Hamilton donates 10% of sales from her pins and art prints to the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre to help support and empower people seeking asylum in Australia. With a focus on insects and patterns inspired by plants, including the Pretty Fly enamel pin set consisting of venus fly trap and matching fly, Hamilton’s work also includes clothing and scarves, made locally and ethically in Sydney by a small team of makers in Redfern. Read more →

Top 5: Australia’s love affair with Nordic design

December 17, 2014July 21, 2016despc

By Penny Craswell

In 1981, a radical new design collective Memphis, headed by Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, released its first collection in the “new international style”. Since then, globalisation of brands and products has led to a consistent aesthetic across national boundaries in contemporary design, to the extent that discussion of national design styles has become increasingly irrelevant.

On the other hand, it is hard to argue with the fact that some countries do design really well (Denmark, Japan, Italy to name just a few) and some not so well (overbearing dark wood furniture and kitchens in some parts of the US or over-the-top glitz in Russia or China, for example). Read more →