The Design Writer

By Penny Craswell

These playful mugs with a mahjong motif are characteristic of the ultra-modern and sometimes humorous take on the traditional visual language of Hong Kong that is Goods of Design.

Ever since I spent some time in HK during 2016, I have been a fan of the brand, whose abbreviation G.O.D. is a homophonic translation of the Cantonese 住好啲 (jyu hou di) , which roughly translates as to live better. The brand’s sense of humour has an Australian flavour so it’s not surprising that co-founder Benjamin Lau is Australian and Australia is one of the company’s top five shipping locations. Check out some more of my favourite designs below.

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By Penny Craswell

The incredible quantity and variety of Italian design and design brands makes this a tricky list. Considering it follows on from my other ode to Italian design Top 10: Italian Design Classics, perhaps the best place to start is with Milanese designer Elena Salmistraro’s Most Illustrious collection for Bosa Ceramiche, which pays tribute to four of the greats of Italian design – Achille Castiglioni, Riccardo Dalisi, Michele De Lucchi and Alessandro Mendini. I love the contemporary detailing, the mix of forms and textures, and the sheer humour of it.

It is wonderful to have women designers in this list, since it was tricky to find any women to include in my previous post. Another beautiful piece by a female designer is the Gilda Fringe Sofa by Milanese designer Lorenza Bozzoli for Editions Milano. Wooden-framed, goose-feathered and brass-footed, this sofa draws on 1950s glamour, with a reference to fashion via a playful fringe.

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Guest contributor and graduate of architecture Nikita Bhopti writes about Partu, an exhibition at Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert in Sydney that is the result of a collaboration between Indigenous leather saddler Johnny Nargoodah and Sydney-based designer Trent Jansen.

An experimental collaboration between saddler Johnny Nargoodah and object designer Trent Jansen has resulted in Partu. Avant-garde object maker Jansen has a history in storytelling and narrative-driven design, capturing cultural identity and history within his works. Nyikina man Nargoodah brings a different skill set to the collaboration, centred around his experience-based techniques with leather, as well as a rich history and connection to place.

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By Penny Craswell

Even for those of us who aren’t very superstitious, carrying a lucky charm can make you feel good, especially when the world is in turmoil. That’s why these Lucky Charms by Adelaide designer duo Daniel To and Emma Aiston are so appealing. Read more from Daniel Emma to hear their story and inspiration.

Penny: What is luck? 

Daniel and Emma: We don’t actually believe in luck per se, but given all that is going on currently we do think that everyone could all do with a little extra something special to brighten their lives!

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By Penny Craswell

Arkadia is a residential project in Sydney’s Alexandria that demonstrates the principles of community and sustainability. Four interconnected buildings spanning 5,590 square metres have been designed by Breathe Architecture, DKO and Oculus to provide homes for 152 families, with 85 of these apartments allocated to defence personnel and their families.

The first step for the design team was to research the site of the development, and the nearly half a million recycled bricks used in the project pay homage to the clay quarries and brick factories that stood here in centuries past.

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By Penny Craswell

Soft pink walls, white marble and cabinetry, terrazzo flooring and warm timber are enough to make this Sydney house renovation distinctive, contemporary and welcoming. This understated warm aesthetic continues with soft green marble fan tiles in the bathroom and beautiful original stained glass in the hall. But it is the curves that really set this home apart. They are everywhere – arches in doorways, a large semi-circle cut into the kitchen bench, curves to bookshelves, undulating vertical timber battens forming the kitchen island, curved edges to the bathroom mirror.

Even the furniture has curves, from the plump cushions of the green Valley sofa by Jardan in the living room, to the spherical Flos wall lights designed by Michael Anastassiades, to the Hat pendant over the dining table, designed by Melbourne designer Luke Mills for Catapult. These curves are complemented by vertical lines to the cabinetry in the kitchen / dining room, vertical-patterned tiles that line the splashback and vertical timber battens to the kitchen island and bathroom cabinet.

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By Penny Craswell

Enzo Mari is a master of Italian design. Born in 1932 and now living in Milan, he is known for his collaboration with Italian brand Danese, for whom he designed everyday objects like letter openers, buckets, pencil holders, calendars, ashtrays and more, as well as toys. Released in 1957, 16 Animali, or 16 Animals, was his first design for Danese, a wooden puzzle for children that is still in production today. Each of the animals – from elephant to hippo, snake to kangaroo – is a simple shape with a small dot for an eye.

The shape of the animals was determined through a painstaking process of problem-solving and the pieces are made with a continuous cut in a single piece of wood. A toy for teaching and for play, it is an expression of Mari’s sense of proportion, scale and balance and speaks to his ability to create visual harmony. He says: “The shapes of toys must be based on archetypal images, and these images must be realised with the highest possible quality and not in the style of ‘children’s ­drawings’.” (Interview, 2009, Metropolis.)

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By Penny Craswell

At the Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition Designs for Different Futures (2019–2020), curators presented a selection of speculative design projects from around the world. There are many fascinating examples, including Alien Nation: Parade 0 by Portuguese designer and artist Lisa Hartje Moura that explores the use of the word “alien” to mean foreigner or immigrant and suggests these “aliens” make a new home on the moon. A short film complete with costume, props and set design uses tropes that are familiar from science fiction – a reduced colour palette, a robotic voice-over and the concept of space travel itself. But the themes are politics, inclusion and society – this is a project very much informed by our current reality that explores a fictional absurdist alternative in an attempt to disrupt social norms.

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By Penny Craswell

This Sneeze Screen has been designed by a Melbourne studio to protect essential workers like baristas, retailers and health sector workers from Covid-19 germs. Paul Loh and David Leggett both trained as architects in the UK and are now based in Melbourne where they started Power to Make with an ethos to: “capitalise on digital technology to produce highly crafted objects which are customisable and yet comparable in price to mass-produced items”.

The screen is simple in design and assembly, consisting of an acrylic sheet with two plywood legs, which can be easily cut and sent with free delivery within Australia. The design has also been released as a digital file on Creative Commons so that anyone with a CNC Router or Laser Cutter can make their own.

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By Penny Craswell

Over the past 10 years or so, we have seen in increase in choice for customers looking to buy bedlinen from local brands selling their own designs. And now that we are spending a lot more time at home and the weather’s getting cooler, here’s five of my favourite quilt covers currently available for purchase online in Australia.

1) With an array of earthy colours and patterns, Sage x Clare is an online retailer selling bedding, but also other homewares, apparel and accessories. The Mathilde Stripe quilt cover is just gorgeous (pictured here in Lemon, but also available in Punch and Parchment) and also check out their range of awesome and funny bath mats.

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