Australian Design: Furnishing a Reputation

D E M E L Z A    M C C R I N D L E Demelza McCrindle of QueenSo is an industrial designer of local and international acclaim. Graduating from a Bachelor of Industrial Design in 2011, McCrindle has designed several products that have garnered international interest, since launching her brand in Adelaide during 2012. The first of these was her Bauhaus architecture–inspired letterbox series LetterHaus, which saw her exhibit as part of The Edge competition at the International Furniture Fair, Sydney and later the Design:Made:Trade event in Melbourne. Winning the Best Stand award, she was invited to exhibit at the London Design Fair. Since then, McCrindle’s products have been featured in numerous publications in print and online, and have been exhibited at both the Milan Design Fair and Tent London as part of London Design Week while ArchiTonic flagged QueenSo as an “exhibitor to watch”. Her products combine functionality with a relaxed, humorous sensibility, which makes her designs approachable, fun and adventurous.   H U W   M C C O N A C H Y Designer Huw McConachy launched his new furniture series, the Ned collection, late last year. Starting his design education in 2005, under the direction of Ken Pfitzner at Marleston TAFE, McConcachy has been an Associate of the furniture program at JamFactory since 2014. Of note is his passion for working with locally sourced and sustainable products. His clean aesthetic, and urban-sleek designs are incredibly appealing, and could easily be at home in luxe European bars and residential kitchens. The designer’s other work includes the Honeycomb wine rack, a stackable storage solution that highlights McConachy’s interest in natural repetitive forms found in nature.   R H Y S    C O O P E R Another of JamFactory’s Associates is Rhys Cooper. Originally from the Central Coast of New South Wales, Cooper moved to Launceston where he completed a Bachelor of Environmental Design and an Honours in Contemporary Arts at the University of Tasmania, before moving to Adelaide. Cooper was commissioned by JamFactory to produce a number of different sized tables for Fino Seppeltsfield’s fit-out.   T A K E S H I    I U E Japanese–born, Adelaide–based furniture designer Takeshi Iue produces forms that embody simplicity and finesse. Iue describes one of his key pieces, the Trunk stool, as “something simple and timeless… something people can use for a long time”. Designed for the exhibition Six, at Aptos Cruz Gallery, the stool is a precise and highly considered work that cleverly conceals, in its minimalism, the complex geometries at play. The young designer’s attention to detail is clear in his process, which took much iteration to reach the perfect level of craftsmanship and design resolution.   L I A M    M U G AV I N It would be remiss not to mention the incredible response Liam Mugavin’s work has received over the past year. Winning the Clarence Prize for Excellence in Furniture Design in early 2015, and more recently the Drink Dine Design Award as part of this year’s Hot 100 Wines competition, Mugavin has enjoyed well-deserved recognition for his seamless integration of craftsmanship and functionality. His designs embody a natural grace and fluidity that has not gone unnoticed, leaving design commentators and judging panels with a real enthusiasm for what is to come from him in the near future.   queenso.com huwmcconachy.com rhyscooper.com.au takeshiiue.com liammugavin.com   Hero image courtesy of Schiavello Design, Maui Collection, schiavello.com/maui