Sydney Archives - The Design Writer

Sydney bayside home, with bookcase

August 16, 2019January 1, 2023despc

Sam Crawford Architects has refreshed and rationalised the interiors of this townhouse in Sydney’s Blackwattle Bay to create an expanded, streamlined and light-filled home with a focus on the beautiful things in life, including art, objects, books, and views of the bay and city skyline beyond.

Blackwattle Bay Townhouse by Sam Crawford. Photo: Anson Smart

The first step in this renovation was to shift and expand the kitchen and living areas by moving the study. The newly enlarged kitchen features a generous brass-clad island bench as a centrepiece, with green tiles on the splashback, white cabinetry on the back wall and black cabinetry on the island. Along one side of the kitchen and adjoining living area, a wall of plain white cupboard doors conceals a large pantry to the left and a stunning drinks cabinet and bar with wine storage in warm timber to the right.

Review: Little Bonny’s chicken shop

March 2, 2018January 1, 2023despc

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 →

Review: Under the Sea by Tracey Deep

July 31, 2017January 1, 2023despc

By Penny Craswell

The gently swaying forms of undersea plant life can contain fascinating folds, crinkles and patterns. Tracey Deep is an artist who sees the beauty in ocean plants, even after they have been washed up on a deserted beach. By making sculptures from these forgotten remnants, she introduces us to a world where even the most stinky seaweed can become a thing of beauty.

Sea Urchin, Tracey Deep, burnt willow. Photo: Nicholas Watts

Sydney artist Tracey Deep’s work was recently shown at Saint Cloche gallery in Sydney. In the exhibition text, Dr Prue Gibson draws parallels with the Cabinets of Curiosity or Wunderkammers of the 17th and 18th Century, calling Deep’s work: “her own cabinet of curious natural specimens”. Read more →

Review: Women and Modern Australian printmaking

January 19, 2017January 1, 2023despc

Guest contributor Belinda Hungerford visits the Art Gallery of NSW exhibition Modern Impressions: Australian Prints from the Collection.

Modernism arrived in Australia at about the same time as other parts of the world and reached all aspects of Australian culture, with its crowning glory arguably the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Modernism was especially embraced by women with its designs quickly adopted in the domestic sphere through soft furnishings, glassware, crockery, furniture, lighting and women’s clothing. Publications such as the Home magazine were also instrumental in promoting the modernist aesthetic. Modern art began to appear on the walls with women not just admirers but practitioners too.

Ethel L Spowers Special edition 1936 colour linocut on thin ivory laid tissue 28.2 x 22.4 cm image; 35.4 x 25.7 cm sheet (irreg.) Art Gallery of New South Wales Purchased 1977

During the 1920s and 1930s women dominated the modern art movement with various speculations relating to social change as to why. In conjunction with the loss of many men during WWI, the profitability of art-making had declined between the wars resulting in a lessening number of male artists. This, in tandem with the growth of social freedom, a development particularly beneficial for women, meant that more and more women were able to pursue careers with many choosing an artistic life. Those with independent means also took the opportunity to travel and study abroad. Read more →

Object stories: Paper series ceramics by Hayden Youlley

January 9, 2017January 1, 2023despc

By Penny Craswell

Sydney-based ceramicist Hayden Youlley’s Paper Series translates the random creases from a crumpled piece of paper into an imprint that offers the perfect balance of chaos and control. “I cast this form by hand in porcelain, transforming the often-discarded flawed object, fragile and temporary, into something robust and permanent,” he says.

Paper series in colour by Hayden Youlley. Photography: Amanda Prior

Youlley works from his studio in Sydney’s Marrickville, using a slip casting process for his Paper Series as well as his other ranges, Tessalate and I.M Light. Read more →

Notes from a design writer in residence

December 1, 2016January 1, 2023despc

By Penny Craswell

An opportunity to work three days a week from the Australian Design Centre as a writer in residence has given me insight into the organisation’s role in Sydney’s craft and design community, and made me think in new ways about my own role in this community.

Australian Design Centre office, designed by Those Architects

The Australian Design Centre has been around for decades, first called Craft NSW then Object, before being rebranded last year as part of a move to new premises in William Street. Primarily known for exhibiting a range of work by Australian designers and craft practitioners across a range of themes, some of which go on to tour around Australia, the ADC also holds regular talks and other events, sells work by local makers in their shop, produces educational resources and has a vital role connecting the design community and advocating for design. 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 →

Review: Out of Hand exhibition

November 3, 2016January 1, 2023despc

By Penny Craswell

‘Out of Hand’ is a new exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum that explores how digital technology is enabling new materials, processes and objects. It features more than 60 works by architects, designers, fashion designers and artists from around the world, with many focusing on new uses for cutting-edge digital design, scanning and printing technologies.

‘Who This Am’ by Kijin Park (left). Exhibition design by LAVA. Photo: Peter Bennetts

One of the most impressive aspects of ‘Out of Hand’ is the exhibition design by LAVA. The architecture studio won a competition to design the space, which consists of a series of curving pure white forms in vertical bands that flow through the space, creating walls, plinths and sculptural forms. Read more →

Marlu (kangaroo) furniture by Nicole Monks

November 1, 2016January 1, 2023despc

By Penny Craswell

Marlu (kangaroo) is a new range of furniture by Indigenous Australian designer Nicole Monks that draws on her rich cultural heritage in a highly crafted, bespoke series of design furniture pieces that are profoundly Australian. (See my previous article on Lucy Simpson and Nicole Monks)

Nyinajimanha (sitting together) stool and table with kangaroo skin by Nicole Monks. Photo: Boaz Nothman

Launched at the Australian Design Centre in Sydney last week, the range features three seating elements: ‘wabarn-wabarn’ (bounce) inspired by the movement of a kangaroo, ‘walarnu’ (boomerang) inspired by the shape of the boomerang used to hunt the kangaroo and ‘nyinajimanha’ (Sitting Together) inspired by the gathering around a table or camp fire to eat kangaroo tail stew. Read more →

Tiny Sydney terrace, opened out

July 20, 2016January 1, 2023despc

By Penny Craswell

A four-metre-wide terrace in Sydney’s Surry Hills has been transformed from a dark, cramped space into a light-filled home with clean lines and balanced proportions thanks to architecture practice Benn & Penna.

Sydney Terrace by Benn & Penna. Photo: Tom Ferguson

The new bedrooms and bathrooms are located above an open-plan living space that opens onto intimate garden spaces at either end of the property. In order to increase the liveable space in the house, these have been treated as outdoor rooms. Read more →