the makers
the makers As Israelmore Ayivor has observed: “There are three categories of people in the world; “the wanters”, “the wishers” and “the makers.” The Makers is our homage to our brightest and most creative individuals – those who have pushed the boundaries of their craft, producing unique pieces of great fascination and complexity. Be inspired by their ability to see potential where most see only waste – bringing life to the discarded, the forgotten, the everyday and assembling the detritus of our over-burdened world into objects of astonishing beauty. And be motivated as they invoke almost-forgotten skills, honing age-old techniques and create heirlooms for future generations. All are committed to treading lightly on our earth and encourage us to Rethink, Reuse, Reduce and Recycle.
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“To be inventive, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.� Thomas Edison
Merrin Glasgow
“Fabric, its roles and symbolism, has so much power and significance. Its qualities dictate cut and style.”
< 14
The seed that grew to become Classic Couture Vintage and Bridal was planted long ago. Merrin Glasgow’s skills in pattern drafting and dressmaking, her experience as a costumier in theatre, and a career in teaching visual arts and textiles, combined with a passion for fabric and an appreciation of the gentle arts, have coalesced into Classic Couture Vintage. Classic Couture Vintage and Bridal garments are ethically and expertly constructed using traditional couture techniques. Merrin offers a unique and intimate experience for brides, designing gowns that are customised to individual needs and aspirations. Classic Couture Vintage and Bridal is dedicated to working with clients at each step of the process, from the first sketch to the final fitting, to ensure their bespoke gown is the perfect fit for their most important day. As Merrin observes, a gown should fit beautifully, complement your figure, reflect your personality and let your inner self shine through. These are the fundamentals that inform all of her couture designs. Where did Classic Couture Vintage originate from? It took time and effort to identify a business name that reflects essentially what I do as a maker. Classic Couture Vintage and Bridal encapsulates my knowledge, skills set, ethos and practice.
Tell us about your background as a designer. My background in design stems from an early introduction to, and involvement with, historical costume. Established dressmaking skills, acquired from two generations of dressmakers, tuition at secondary school, participation in school drama productions, and in amateur and professional theatre also contributed. A love of research for period costume, combined with a restricted budget, motivated and facilitated my desire to think ‘outside the square’. I learned to design garments for characters with rudimentary resources, and loved the challenge. I left theatre many years ago and transferred to designing couture garments and bridal wear. Bridal garments are connected with ceremony, and are thus a form of theatre for a brief period. Have you always had a love of vintage clothing? My love of vintage clothing originates from the time when I was associated with theatre. There are certain eras that exemplify particular characteristics that appeal and inspire me. For example, the innocence of Regency dress, which is diaphanous and delicate, the Elizabethan dress with its exaggerated, encrusted embellishment, Art Deco 1920’s vertical lines without shape, which still captured femininity and strength, and the 1950’s hourglass silhouette, which embraces voluptuous curves and classic beauty. Describe how you decide on the designs for your clients. My design process begins with viewing my clients’ selection of images. I ask specific questions related to their choice of
Words by Jen Eales Photography Tony Webdale
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textures on recycled plastic bottles when they are heated slightly. I am more interested in the used and handled marks and colours and how use affects their surfaces. How best would you describe your workspace? Very Steptoe and Son! Organised chaos. Although it is jam packed, I know where every single thing is. I don’t throw anything away. I work among the materials and they seep into my practise and making. Everything is at arm’s reach and this is important to my process. I juxtapose diverse materials and processes and find that, sometimes, the most unexpected and unplanned combinations are the most beautiful.
Hands-on material manipulation is essential to how I work. Objects are shaped and formed as I explore a variety of methods to work the material. This process brings about a raw aesthetic that I am attracted to. My making process draws on an accumulation of visual, technical and personal influences as well as the intuitive and reflective…when it is right you just know. Where do you source your materials from? The acrylic and Perspex came from a dumpster outside a city department store. I have enough to last me years. I buy recycled silver. The aluminium is often offcuts, sometimes slid under my door by a neighbour who has left over pieces from their DIY projects. The brass is bought from Reverse Garbage in Brisbane.
What are the tools of your trade? I use pliers, saws, hammers mainly, shears sometimes; my design journal is a constant. I like to keep everything I do unplugged. Everything is done by hand. Where does the inspiration for the shapes of your pieces come from? The inspiration comes from the material itself. Sometimes I cut or shape pieces, but it is in response or reaction to another piece, or the negative space between shapes and edges. I don’t think the shapes in my work are jarring…they are like river pebbles nestling together or else the exact reverse – the profile of the space around a pebble.
Why do you feel it is important to use scraps and sustainable mediums to produce your work? I have never done it any other way. I never want to waste anything. It should not be a disposable world. I want to be part of a world that values and cherishes what we make and have…and to aspire to not having so much. How much has your background in other artistic areas influenced your work? I am an assembler of pieces; I love making my own clothes and as a seamstress I put things together. When I choose fabric there are always layers – either a texture or a pattern – or I add an embellishment. I still use layering and that approach in my work.
David Lester
“The world can be an intense and stress-inducing place. Some people go shopping, some take pills and others, like me, adjust the lighting!” < 24
Most lights are designed for purpose or beauty. David Lester’s lights are a little different. They also have a personality. Each piece is a luminous creature with a unique character. When illuminated, you get the comforting feeling you’re not alone. Light plays an extremely important part in David’s life. As a skin cancer doctor, he deals with damage caused by too much sunlight on human skin. Keenly sensitive to the quality of light around him, David says bad lighting is “the visual equivalent of muzak”.
What is the aim of your work? What are you looking to achieve? Almost all my pieces are lights of some kind. My aim is to turn discarded objects into functional or amusing pieces. Ideally the final product will also be soothing and beautiful. Modern life can be intense and a glary environment only ramps up the angst. I find softer lighting calming. Maybe it’s a filter that helps you see less in the world, or perhaps it reduces your sensory overload. I just know it feels great when I repurpose garbage and create a calm space. How did it all begin?
Living in Kyneton in Victoria’s beautiful Macedon Ranges gives David the mental space to create. Making lights helps him relax and he likes creating lights that are offbeat or make him laugh. David readily acknowledges that, like Pinocchio’s creator Geppetto, he’s giving life to “little friends”. Making lights from junk is a creative and technical challenge and David believes the history of the objects he salvages helps give them personality. Repurposing objects satisfies a couple of needs. The pieces David selects often have an in-built design strength or beauty that has endured despite the ravages of time. And he likes reusing things in a world where so much is going to landfill.
Frustration! I bought an industrial lamp from a vintage shop and was irritated by its restricted functionality. I dismantled it, cleaned it, rewired it and had castors welded to its base. Its essential nature was the same but it was better. The process was so enjoyable and rewarding I decided to do another piece. I needed bedside tables so I set about scouring op shops. Ultimately I struck gold at a metal recycler: a couple of grungy washing machine drums awaiting transformation and illumination. Why the name Luminous Creatures? Two of my early pieces made use of globes that looked fairly eye-ball like – they were on long stalks and I thought, ‘I’ve made myself a couple of slightly strange buddies here!’. My wife came up with the name.
Antipodean Tynker
“ ...the bikes have not been built for the road; they are more objects of outrageous beauty.”
< 30
The Oxley Highway in New South Wales is something of a mecca for motorcycle enthusiasts. It’s a strip of wellmaintained road that runs for 200-odd twisty kilometres between Wauchope and Bendemeer. The highway climbs and crosses the Great Dividing Range, passing through tall timbered forests then on top to the open plains. As you climb, it gets noticeably cooler. The jaw-dropping scenery and challenging roads for riding is a winning combination. Along the Oxley is a little town called Walcha, which has an artsy reputation. It is home to a staggering open air gallery of over 50 public artworks, making for an inspirational walking trail. But that is not all. Over five years ago, Mark Walker and Erika Syrjanen landed in Walcha (on their way to Tasmania), bought a shop and set up a little business called ‘Antipodean Tynker’. Beneath a golden fleur de lis, their royal blue shopfront reads ‘Makers in Metal’, which doesn’t begin to cover what they do. They are both practised and professional metal artists who employ found objects and reuse parts from discarded machines. Mark’s work is mainly machines and larger sculptures. Like Dr Frankenstein in his workshop, he makes new machines from the parts stripped from old machines and taken out of old structures. Mark builds motorbikes from scratch, using an enormous range of unusually sourced materials. Mark is not exactly new to this. He has been building motorbikes since the 1960s. As the story has it, he was 14 when his father brought home an Outfit (motorbike and sidecar); it was not long
after this he told his mum he needed a lathe. The 1977 issue of Two Wheels has one of his very first hand-built bikes on the cover, the whole bike and the whole engine – with the caption “Australian Creates the Ultimate Drag Bike”. That bike, a 2000 cc, 300 bhp Top Fuel Drag Monster, capable of reaching speeds over 160 mph, was used in racing for around 30 years and is now retired and permanently on display at Mt Panorama’s Australian National Motor Racing Museum in Bathurst. Mark Walker is an Australian legend. Mark is in his 70s now, and his work has been taken to a whole new level. On display at Antipodean Tynker are five of his complete builds. They all run – in fact, they call the machines ‘art that runs’ – but the bikes have not been built for the road; they are more objects of outrageous beauty. After finishing the third bike, ‘1916’, the feedback was that he had created a steampunk bike, and while Mark might have found this term new to him at the time, he now embraces it and intentionally builds with that aesthetic in mind. Mark and Erika dress in what they call ‘street steaming’, which basically translates as steampunk for everyday life. Mark and Erika are mad foragers. They spend a lot of time at flea markets, car boot sales and swap meets, and they wander far and wide for their collections. They love the hunt. And nothing goes to waste. Mark has a burgeoning movie library – and it’s not too hard to find the influence of films like Mad Max, Fury Road and Mortal Engines in his works. Their new puppy, a miniature wire-haired dachshund, has been christened Hester Shaw – the name of the protagonist from Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines series of novels.
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Words by Team Junkies Photography Danny Wootton
Raising a family is in itself a difficult endeavor with many varied and often unexpected challenges. The lives of creative people are very much ‘feast or famine’ and the lack of stability is challenging within the context of family life. The Kings made the move to their 20-acre property in Eganstown with the intent that they would both be able to work from home and be as present as possible for their children. As a family with three school age children a typical week normally involves a lot of driving! Louiseann is a parent helper at their children’s school and is very involved in their education. She shares with us that, ‘In a family, just when you think that you might have a sense of what’s happening, everything changes yet again’. Louiseann’s work tends to happen in intense blocks and she is ably assisted by Kristian. Her bronze work is produced by Fundere Art Foundry, with whom she’s had a 20-year relationship, and she’ll take time out of family life in order to work on her work art at Fundere. Louiseann is constantly planning, looking and thinking about her practice, and, she tells us, the demands of parenthood have made her more deliberate and decisive in her work. Kristian is in the workshop every day working on commissions, restorations and maintaining his large workshop. And there’s a great deal to be done on the property itself. Most days there’s some kind of event that requires immediate attention: a tree across the road, a kangaroo that’s become tangled in a fence, a water pump that’s stopped pumping, wood to be chopped and split and fruit trees that need netting. Kristian works alone on his craft and this generates an intensity and perfection that is only achieved by a sole maker.
Louiseann and Kristian are living very consciously and attempting to reduce their eco-footprint as much as possible – this kind of living involves sustained attention from them both. They maintain a home orchard, veggie garden and have a flock of hens. It’s a rambunctious family home with children and their friends bouncing around, their daughter’s house bunny hopping in and out, a friendly labradoodle and a sweet shmoodle – a shitzu x maltese x poodle – adding to the energy. Their children are curious about the world around them and this is something that the Kings encourage. Louiseann tells us that they have suffered the fate of most artists’ children – being dragged around art galleries and museums and often it’s a case of ‘not another gallery!!’. Having said that one night the Kings were driving home and their eldest child said nonchalantly, ‘That’s a Eugene Von Guerard sky...’, and it was… “I think that our children are able to ‘see’ the world and that’s something they have taught us as much as we have taught them.” Louiseann and Kristian work both independently and together – constantly sharing their knowledge and skills. Between the two of them they have a diverse skill set and there is very little that they do not attempt. They are each other’s frankest and fairest critics, and each other’s most ardent advocates and supporters.
Words by Sue Garrard Photography Sonya Moyle & Andre Castellucci
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will want to wear whilst reducing landfill. The pleasure people derive from wearing the jewellery I create is an important aspect of my practice. I work in a studio that is housed in a stable that was built in 1850 and located on the Seppeltsfield Winery site - an iconic part of the Barossa Valley. There are other artists and artisans in the building, too, which is great for collaboration, coffee and cake. This unique space was created by The JamFactory, a renowned South Australian art and design body, and I feel very lucky to have been invited to set up my studio here. This space gives regional artists an opportunity to make and sell work locally and to a worldwide audience as so many international and interstate visitors find their way here! I also teach workshops in my studio and at the local Regional Gallery. My practice has grown from a foundation of craft and I’ve been fortunate to experience artist residencies in regions where traditional craft practices are important for local communities. In 2016, I spent time in India at Sanskriti Kendra. This organisation aims to foster an environment for the preservation and development of the arts in both India and the world. During my residency, I was inspired by the magnificent ancient architecture of Delhi. The jewellery I created echoed the shapes and patterns found in the grand buildings and monuments. The work was crafted from reclaimed materials in direct contrast to the opulence of India’s Moghul past. More recently, in October 2019, I attended a Residency at Compeung in the north of Thailand. The culture of innovation and the handcrafted was evident in temples, markets, schools
Julie Fleming “To paraphrase Monty Python, the problem with the world today, there aren’t enough people wearing hats.” C.M. Pieper < 60
Julie Fleming is a South Australian-based English-trained leading milliner. After five years undertaking a fine arts degree and completing post-graduate studies in painting and printmaking, Julie trained and worked in London learning the intricate art of millinery with fellow workers in their 80s who had been practicing as milliners since they were 14 years old. Having acquired a wealth of experience and techniques, Julie returned to Australia in 1989 to make and sell hats and fascinators in Melbourne.
Where did you first study millinery?
Julie’s service to her clients and to her craft, and her commitment to style, is legendary. One of Australia’s longest-established high fashion milliners, Julie makes bespoke, beautiful hats, fascinators and headbands. Her millinery is also highly sought after for film, television and the stage. Julie’s pieces are made entirely by hand following traditional techniques and making processes. Her design ethos revolves around the ‘less is more principle’. She is influenced by classic design and finds inspiration from the glamorous fashions of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, using the finest fabrics and materials available, many of which are vintage.
When designing for a client what are the most important question you need to ask?
In January 2015, Julie relocated to South Australia. Her studio is now located in an original 1851 stables building within the JamFactory Artisan studios at Seppeltsfield Winery. Each year in October, Julie returns to Melbourne to service her private clients in the lead up to the Spring Racing Carnival.
I travelled to London in 1988 and worked at Philip Somerville milliners off New Bond St in the West End of London in the heart of the couture salons and workrooms. Who are your fashion and style icons? From my era, I would say Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood. From the past, the fashion perfection of Dior.
Most important at the first meeting is the physical stature and presence of the client. Once I meet the client and discuss the event I then need to see the outfit and the handbag and shoes. I offer a whole styling package so that the client feels totally comfortable in the hat or headpiece as if it’s not even there. If I can manage that and they feel like a queen, then I’m happy. I love to see the photos after a client has worn one of my creations to an event. Tell us about some of the celebrity clients that you have worked with over the years. I make for theatre and television and get to meet some amazing people, working both behind the scenes and in the spotlight. In 2015 I was asked to make the State gift from the people of South
Carys Martin Ceramics
“Each piece made in my studio is more than just a decoration for your home, it’s a daily connection to a higher belief to help you find your true north.” < 72
Carys Martin originally trained as a printmaker, completing her degree in 1996. In 2009 she revisited her love of clay and began to learn the technical skills to make clay her canvas. Carys is drawn to contrasts and moments in time where different cultures overlap, an awareness that is often referenced in her pieces. You will find raw clay surfaces contrasting with a shiny, smooth glaze finish or highly decorated surfaces alongside negative space. The inspiration behind many of her pieces stems from growing up in a remote Cumbrian hamlet, where relics, stories and folklore were commonplace. Beautiful packaging, made with recycled materials and soybased inks, has been specifically designed for the Travel Cups and wall hangings. All the artwork is original, and is designed and drawn by Carys. Carys works with local Brisbane designers and manufacturers whose environmental and ethical values align with her own. In using bespoke packaging, Carys Martin Ceramics reduces packaging needed to transport pieces to their new homes and tells a story that allows the pieces to speak for themselves when they leave the studio. As conscious protectors of the environment, Carys Martin Ceramics is mindful of minimising its impact on the Earth. It is inspired by nature, and motivated by the need to make a difference.
Where does the influence for your designs come from? Much of my inspiration is stored deep within, from growing up around the Neolithic rock carvings in Cumbria to a large Celtic influence. It is drawn from my travels throughout the world, including Peru, and a love for the spiritual influences in our lives. The beauty of the process of creating my pieces is that they cannot be rushed. My inspiration is always deep within my soul, and is drawn from a love of symbols that have been impregnated with meaning. Your designs have a lot of spirals and symbols. Is that derived from a particular culture? Spirals and certainly symbols always seem to come forth in my designs. Spirals are frequently seen in nature and so it makes sense that they are seen in many different cultures and indeed find their way into my work. Tell us about your One Cup One Tree Planted philosophy. To date we have planted the equivalent of over 60 football fields of trees in Peru. A portion of the sale of every ceramic Travel Cup is donated to the organisation One Tree Planted. One Tree Planted works with reforestation organisations around the world, helping local communities restore forests. The trees planted help clean the air, provide access to clean water, restore habitat, provide jobs, improve health and remove carbon from the atmosphere. Every year over one billion coffee cups are thrown out in Australia alone. Reusing our Travel Cups helps to reduce the amount of
Words by Cathy Tobin Photography Cathy Tobin & Jayne Newgreen
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minimal possessions, enjoying the daily walks, the wonderment in nature’s beauty. Many of our travel photos are macro images of flowers highlighting their intricate patterns and colors. Our motto became “appreciate the small things in life”. We travelled Australia for two years and our favourite camps were not the tourist destinations but those that hold a special memory: the old majestic trees with hollowed trunks big enough to lie in, the sensational sunsets, the eagles hovering in the updraft, the spectacle of the daily synchronised dance of the pelicans and cormorants, the kindness and laughter shared around an evening fire, and the vastness of land and sky. Where do you source you materials from? Everything I use for my weaving is either gifted to me or sourced from op shops: ‘orphaned’ balls of yarn, cones of sewing threads, garments to cut up (or to be used as a pattern layout), elastic, zippers and buttons, sewing patterns. It is all perfectly good to use; it just comes without a label or packaging. What do you love most about what you do? Each weaving is unique and there is no pressure to follow patterns, count stitches and aim for a factory-perfect piece of cloth. As I sit at the loom getting into a rhythm I get lost in my own thoughts. It becomes a meditative process. Then comes the designing and sewing of the garment. I am so proud of the finished article, to be able to transform those discarded items into a unique piece of wearable art.
Tell us about your classes and workshops. My favorite philosophy of Saori is to ‘Inspire one another’. I do this through my Facebook and Instagram posts and by giving classes, sharing with others what I have learnt. There are three looms in the studio, with a large selection of yarns, and after five minutes of instructions on how to use the loom, the freeform weaving begins. Each month I vary the theme of the workshops and advertise this through social media. What do you love most about your workspace? My studio is a small two-storey brick building in Maryborough, Victoria, that is called ‘The coach house”. The bricks are all handmade and it still has the blackened outer wall from where the old blacksmith fire stood. I love the olde world charm of the building, with its warmth and the history held in the space. What are you currently working on? The loom is threaded with a twisted blue/white cotton that I bought at the op shop and I’m weaving with gifted yarns: a cone of fine blue thread and short lengths of wool from the spinners group. Once the cloth is off the loom and washed I will decide if it will be a jacket or something else. The weaving of the cloth and the design of the clothing have no restrictions, and there are no instructions on what it becomes, so each piece is a one-off article.
in.cube8r “With a brain that is always racing I’ve been taking time to slow down, reconnect with my creative side and be a bit more mindful. Craft is helping me reconnect with myself.”
< 104
Elle-May Michael has always been around creative, entrepreneurial people. With a sound-engineer father and a musician mother, her start to life was rich with big personalities. She moved with her family to the Blue Mountains when she was four and her parents opened a restaurant and live music venue to support their growing family. They created an amazing community of creative people, and as one of those kids who always wanted to sit at the grown up table – she was like a little sponge for ideas. While my friends were having family dinners and watching TV, my brothers and I were sitting out the back of the shop, sneaking lemon gelato and asking for secret chips with our dinners. I still remember my first day of work, taking bills to customers, smiling and saying efcharistó (thank you in Greek)...I was around six years old. The business ran for 15 years. Because of this background, I’ve always been a bit of an outsider and a very big personality. I wanted to be a performer and so, with the money I earned working weekends at the restaurant, I put myself into singing, dancing and acting classes so that I could get into a musical theatre course. When I was at college, my teacher said something that stuck with me to this day: “If you’re not going to throw yourself head first into this and rely on it as your sole way of surviving, you will never make it in this industry”. and I realised I didn’t want to be a struggling artist. I still wanted to be creative, but making myself the centre of that was no longer my priority. I wanted a stable and enriching life helping others, and so my business mindset was unleashed.
I got myself a charity fundraising job in a call centre, and slowly moved myself through the ranks. I brought my creative mind to a dry business environment and worked with the IT department to reinvent badly designed systems and make them more user friendly and considerate of our customers. I created a customer service team where one hadn’t previously existed, I studied graphic design, learned how to make websites, went to various training courses and completed a communications degree in my spare time. I did all this without ever being asked…and I was not open to being told I couldn’t, either. I absorbed so much during the 10 years I worked in this position, but became bored working for someone else. I was itching to do my own thing and then found out about a gorgeous little business for sale in Melbourne called in.cube8r. in.cube8r represented the community that I had lost when my parents closed their business. I saw a new family of creatives who had stories I could get to know and businesses that together we could hopefully grow. The business operated like a seven day a week market where creatives could rent a space to call their own, and keep 100% of their profits. It was grungy and cute and everything I didn’t know I was looking for. After a few months of turning my life inside out I found myself the owner of a business in a new city with 70 clients. It was massive: there were lots of names to learn and personalities to decode…I was in my element! I loved when the makers would come in, show me what they had made and tell me what they were hoping to make next. I loved connecting customers to these stories, and sharing the beautiful experience of buying handmade. I noticed over time, however, that many makers weren’t taking advantage of social media and
Harry Millward
“The self, a window, be acrid or saccharine, nothing is hidden.”
< 112
Harry Millward is inspired by the natural world, surrealism and abstract art, music, mythology, his travels through Asia, video games, gender identity, and the overall human experience. He hopes, in time, we can move away from the environmentally destructive fast fashion model, embrace the ideas of quality over quantity, and develop a culture where men, as well as women, can explore themselves through fashion. Growing up in rural South Australia, I was about as far removed from fashion as it’s possible to be. As I grew older I couldn’t relate to the fashion around me. Most boys my age were more interested in sports than art and stories. At age 16 I moved to Adelaide, finished high school, and studied photography. After five years working in the industry I started to burn out. I wasn’t getting to do the kind of work that excited me, and eventually chose to leave it. After a few months without a major creative outlet I started to look at other things to try, and without any real sewing experience to speak of I attempted to sew a shirt. It was a disaster, so I looked for a sewing course. Joining Kangan Institute in 2013 was an eyeopener to just how much I did not know, but also how much I loved the process of creation, the feeling of taking something from a concept to something you could actually wear. I knew I had stumbled into something amazing. To paraphrase something my sewing teacher once said to me, I was ‘an A student with D skills’. I guess when you start
from the bottom, there is only one way to climb. From not being able to sew a straight line, to being invited to show my collection in the Melbourne Fashion Week student show, and being given ‘inspirational student of the year for 2016’ certainly felt like a climb. In my final year, one of the assignments was to write about a local designer. I discovered Vincent Li, a Chinese Australian designer with a flair for the avant garde and a talent for mixing luxury and concept. I was instantly his biggest fan. After graduation I sent Vincent a message that I would do anything to work with him. He graciously took me on and gave me a year’s worth of amazing experience, including helping backstage at a fashion show and allowing me to tag along to China and Hong Kong for a business trip. It was in Hong Kong that I decided I was going to start my own business. Over the next few months I began to sell my first mini collection of knitwear. I wanted to make my business about being as locally made as I could, and using as many natural fabrics and fibres as possible. I started with the idea that I would be making menswear, but I quickly realised that my style was unisex. For my second collection, ‘The River’, I kept a flowy androgynous style: my rule became, if it looks good on me, and it looks good on my sister, it was right. Since then I’ve started selling at Rose St Artists Market, and at the amazing store ‘In.cube8r’. Because of the amazing support artists like me have from the community, I believe that Melbourne is one of the best places in the world to start a small business.
Words by Harry Millward Photography Matthias Ogger
Smyle Designs
“Creativity is making marvellous out of the discarded.”
< 122
Matt and Kylie are Brisbane-based designers with a passion for colour, retro design and creative recycling. Together they have created Smyle Designs, an ecofriendly jewellery and accessories range made exclusively from upcycled materials. Matt and Kylie met three years ago, fell in love (aww…) and started making things together almost straight away. Both are makers at heart and happiest when involved in creative pursuits, so making things together felt natural. They’re both also avid recyclers, with a love for all things retro. Their home is a testament to this. Virtually every piece of furniture has come from an op shop or curbside collection. Vintage fabric features strongly in their décor. From handmade cushions, to wall hangings and recovered lamp shades, there is colour and retro patterns all around. When they first started making things together they mainly used vintage fabric from their combined collection, which was rather large. But when they bought themselves a CNC router in 2018, they were suddenly able to start taking their making to a whole new level. They spent a good 12 months learning how to use the machine, cutting lots of different materials, making lots and lots of mistakes, breaking lots and lots of drill bits, getting excited, getting frustrated, getting excited again, and finally emerging with a very clever and completely original way of turning discarded CDs, DVDs and vinyl records into earrings, brooches, necklaces and mantle clocks.
Their unique production method is definitely a labour of love. Their product range incorporates their original, retro-inspired artwork, hand-poured resin, cutting, hand sanding and assembling, all from their home studio in Brisbane. They do a lot of the assembling work in their favourite outside space at home they call ‘the nook’, and deal with Australian suppliers, most of them locally, and face to face. Visually, there is a strong retro vibe to what the couple makes, and they draw a lot of their inspiration on how to live from an earlier era also, a time when things were made with artistic flair, were made with care, and made to last, and people looked after their belongings and appreciated them, fixing them if they broke. Smyle Designs is committed to working with existing materials and creatively recycling them. Matt and Kylie acknowledge that as a society we produce too much waste. Their dream world is one where no more new, mass-produced items are allowed to be made. Instead everyone has to work with what is here already, and learn to rethink, re-purpose and recycle. These two creative entrepreneurs are embracing life and the culture of creative recycling and crafting by hand. In just six months they have produced a large, colourful collection of ecofriendly jewellery and accessories. Their work has been embraced at markets and they have plans to place their range into ethical retail shops across Australia.
Words & Photography Kylie McBeath