Page 65 - Australian Wood Review №103 2019

DESIGN

each one is slightly different. This Above: CA Bench,
not only keeps us interested but we Tasmanian oak, 1830 x
450 x 450mm.
keep learning. Each one comes from Photo: Peter Whyte
the same design concept and joinery
Below: The MONA
detail, but we’re able to streamline cellar bar tables and
our processes and in theory learn benches are another
design that went on to
from past mistakes. have a life beyond the
original commission,
in domestic and
If you imagine a line or a spectrum residential as well as
with boredom at one end and stress corporate settings
such as the courtyard
at the other, in theory there’s a sweet at Design Tasmania.
spot somewhere in the middle. That’s Photo: Peter Howard
where the good work lives. The jobs
that are challenging and fulfilling but

you know that you’ve got the skills,
knowledge and capacity to deliver.
Repetition helps us find this zone.

4. Other people

Community. Collaboration is a term
that is in danger of being overused
– along with ‘bespoke’, ‘tailored’ and
‘crafted’ – but in my experience when

it is done right the whole is definitely
greater than the sum of the parts.

Genuine collaboration is a two-way
street with egos put aside. Some

of the most exciting and terrifying
projects we’ve worked on over the last
ten years or so have come through
collaborations with architects,

artists, metalworkers, engineers and
scientists. It’s always fun to play
with others – as long as there’s a no
dickhead rule. This works quite well
in Tasmania – because it’s such a

small community, word travels fast.
Small communities encourage you to
be the best version of yourself which
suits me just fine.

5. Mingei movement

Mingei is a Japanese folk art
movement that developed in the
1920s and 30s. Its philosophical

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