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Review: New Greg Natale Flagship store

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By Penny Craswell

Interior designer Greg Natale has made his name through bold yet elegant colours and geometries, gradually augmenting his interiors with ranges of his own designed objects, homewares, textiles and more. Now, for the first time, you can browse the entire collection at the new Greg Natale Flagship store in Sydney’s Potts Point.

Greg Natale Shop, Sydney. Photo: Anson Smart

The shop itself is also designed by Natale, with floors in his own Rubato tile made with Jurassic marble, teamed with pale grey wall and ceiling finishes and elegant high arches to a wall niche and doorway.

Custom-made visual merchandising tables and round plinths in the same Jurassic marble and in a grey fluted finish create sculptural stands for the display of goods on sale.

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Object Stories: Jolly light by Kate Stokes

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By Penny Craswell

The new Jolly light by Melbourne designer Kate Stokes is all about round, joyous geometries. Translucent hand-blown glass forms a bold half sphere, while its solid metal shade creates a more introverted profile in matte black, eucalyptus, burgundy or polished brass. In the wall light variety, this shape hugs the wall, whereas in the pendant variety, it sits at a jaunty angle from straight metal rods.

Jolly light by Kate Stokes was launched at ICFF in New York alongside SIA chair by Tom Fereday. Photo: Mike Baker

 

Launched at the recent International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York, the light is produced by Australian design brand NAU, which also launched the SIA chair by Tom Fereday at the same event, presenting an Australian design showcase to the world stage.  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 →

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 →

Top 10: Ethical design gift guide

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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.

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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 →

Studio profile: Industrial designer Andrew Simpson of Vert

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By Penny Craswell

Visiting his studio in Sydney, Andrew Simpson’s approach to design is instantly made clear. His studio and design house, called Vert, is packed full of prototypes, design objects and machines. As well as being a place where the design team gets on with their computer-based design work, the space is full of objects at every stage of making.

The VM Case being hand finished by Andrew Simpson of Vert. Photo: supplied
The VM Case being hand finished by Andrew Simpson of Vert. Photo: supplied

This is emblematic of Andrew’s approach to design. He wants to know how things are made, and to improve on that process himself by making something new, by “experimenting at the process edge of making” as he phrases it. Read more →