Marmalade Issue 5, 2017
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
‘People are sick of<br />
throwaway items:<br />
they want to invest<br />
in a product they<br />
can be proud to<br />
have in their<br />
home or office.’<br />
In mid-<strong>2017</strong> Stobie travelled to Scandinavia to learn more<br />
about the region that consistently inspires his work. Visiting<br />
manufacturers such as JL Møller in Denmark benefitted his<br />
practice from both a creative and business angle. But what<br />
Stobie’s investment in research also reveals is the importance<br />
of knowledge-sharing. Forming connections and cultivating<br />
community at both a micro and macro level are especially<br />
crucial in a small, albeit bustling, creative hub like Adelaide.<br />
It’s a style of networking that promotes a culture of<br />
generosity, something Daniel To and Emma Aiston have<br />
engaged with since launching Daniel Emma in 2008.<br />
The design duo recently moved into a new studio space<br />
in JamFactory’s Morphett Street facility surrounded by<br />
likeminded creatives, including architects from Sweden’s<br />
Snøhetta, whose first Australian studio is also located<br />
at the premises.<br />
To and Aiston’s collaborations are many and varied and<br />
their strong visibility within an international marketplace<br />
has undoubtedly helped fuel a healthy interest in Adelaide<br />
as a design hub. Their new furniture collections, featuring<br />
Soft Chair, 2016, and the Pick n Mix Table, 2014, also serve to<br />
emphasise Adelaide’s diversity of practice. While the couple’s<br />
keen attention to detail is shared amongst their fellow peers<br />
working predominantly in timber, the boldly-coloured,<br />
Memphis-flavoured aesthetic of Daniel Emma’s pieces<br />
stands in stark contrast. Interestingly, To and Aiston have<br />
only recently expanded their practice to include furniture,<br />
which suggests the demand for Australian designed and<br />
manufactured product is on the rise.<br />
It’s a positive shift that designer Franco Crea has noticed<br />
too. As he explains, ‘People are sick of throwaway items:<br />
they want to invest in a product they can be proud to have in<br />
their home or office.’ The furniture designer had been solely<br />
operating out of his Adelaide CBD studio for three years,<br />
when in early <strong>2017</strong> he opened a second studio in Melbourne<br />
(where he’s now based) to meet growing demand.<br />
Crea acknowledges the disconnectedness between the<br />
design hubs of Adelaide and the eastern states is gradually<br />
diminishing and his joint studio operation is testament to<br />
this. However, there’s still more work to be done if design as<br />
an industry is to continue thriving in this country. ‘Education<br />
for the public is more important than ever in order to build<br />
awareness and spread the message of investing in local<br />
design, which needs to happen to increase opportunities for<br />
designers,’ he says. ‘And in turn, emerging designers need<br />
to be educated about what support networks and schemes<br />
are available to them, whether via government or an<br />
independent body.’<br />
ISSUE 05 / 15