The Design Files Daily

Monthly Archives: March 2011

March 28, 2011 – 6:00 am

Freedom Furniture – new collection giveaway!

New pieces from Freedom‘s Autumn collection.  Clockwise from top left – Victor rug - $186,  a cluster of Single Bulb Pendants – $69.95 each, cute new cushions including ‘Draftsmen’ and ‘Molly’ – from $39.95, Satellite Coffee Table – $149, Carpenter’s Dining Table – $1499 and Venus chair in ‘Goldilocks’ – just $99.00.

I was very lucky recently to be amongst a couple of other brilliant local bloggers invited to attend the launch of Freedom‘s new Autumn collection in Sydney.  Ooh la la it was a rather impressive event held in the very beautiful Sydney College of the Arts studio buildings in Rozelle – and even featured an intimate performance by Sally Seltmann of ‘1,2,3,4‘ songwriting fame!  Suffice to say we were very well looked after – although mainly I was just pretty excited to be treated like actual ‘media’!  How posh.

ANYWAY the folks at Freedom are doing their darndest to shake things up with their latest collection, and I must admit they did surprise me with some of their new pieces!  Alongside the more traditional styles they’re well known for, they’ve also just launched some super contemporary and limited edition products which caught my attention.  My pick of the bunch is pictured above… although I must say it was VERY hard to choose between the 10 new limited edition rainbow coloured Venus Dining chairs!  With names like  ‘Goldilocks’ (pictured above), ‘Leprechaun’ and ‘Bubble Gum’, I’m sure these guys will have no trouble making new friends!

LUCKILY for you guys, the lovely girls at Freedom HQ have decided to offer a super generous giveaway for 2 lucky Design Files readers!  One reader will win a $750.00 Freedom gift voucher, and there is also $250.00 voucher for second prize!

The rules for this comp a little different to usual, please pay attention!

To enter, you must :

- Visit the freedom website here.

- Select your favourite item from the Autumn 2011 collection. (can be furniture, accessories, anything!)

- pop back here and leave a comment on this post today, letting us know in 25 words or less your favourite item from the current range and why!

Two winners will then be selected and contacted tomorrow by email!  This competition is open to all Australian and New Zealand residents only.

(Freedom have posted the fineprint terms and conditions for this giveaway over here if you are so inclined).

Yippee thanks Freedom!  Whoever wins this one, I will give you extra points if you buy 6 x Venus dining chairs in 6 different colours!  How cool would that be?

*Update – This giveaway is now closed!  Thanks so much for all your entries!  The winners were comment #24 – Kitty’s Kaboodle, and second place winner, #96 – Madeleine Beatty!

Posted by Lucy at 6:00 am
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March 28, 2011 – 5:57 am

New Guest Blogger – Jodie Fried of Armadillo&Co!

Jodie Fried of Bholu and Armadillo&Co joins us this week on the Guest Blog!

The very gorgeous Jodie Fried joins us this week on the Guest Blog!  Oh LORD Jodie is so AMAZING!  Get ready for a seriously inspiring week!  You might remember our interview with Jodie last year, focusing mainly on her stunning soft furnishings range Bholu, and her incredible achievements funding community programs and building pre-schools in India.  BUT it seems Jodie just didn’t have quite enough on her plate(!).. so she launched another business very close to her heart – Armadillo&Co!  Here Jodie works with business partner Sally Pottharst on a stunning range of rugs, handcrafted in India by talented artisans whom Jodie refers to as their ‘extended family’.

Armadillo&Co. supports ‘Care & Fair’ – an initiative against illegal child labour in the carpet production industry in India, Nepal and Pakistan.  You’ll be very relieved to know of course that Armadillo&Co ensure absolutely no child labour is used in the creation of their gorgeous rugs!  Jodie and Sally also work hard to support and contribute financially to the local communities where their products are made – their most recent project was purchasing play equipment for a local school.

I am not quite sure how Jodie has time to run two businesses, produce her ranges ethically in India, AND also write a Design Files Guest Blog!  Does this woman ever sleep?

DO pop over to the Guest Blog each day this week to get an incredible insight into the amazing Armadillo&Co!

Posted by Lucy at 5:57 am
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March 28, 2011 – 5:55 am

Jodie Fried and Armadillo&Co in India!

Today we welcome Jodie Fried to the Guest Blog! You might remember Jodie from her inspiring interview last year where we learnt all about her fantastic work in India through her homewares company Bholu. This week, Jodie is taking us to India with her sister business Armadillo&Co. We’ll  see how their rugs are created, from the raw materials, meeting the talented artisans behind the rugs and seeing the final products. It is going to be a really interesting and beautiful week, thank you to Jodie for taking us on this journey! -Jenny x

I am so excited to be here on The Design Files, a big thanks to Lucy and Jenny for having me! In the past, The Design Files have profiled my other brand Bholu (see interview here!) but this week, I wanted to share my recent journey to India for my other brand Armadillo&Co while we (my business partner, Sally and I) check on production, meet with our weavers and let ourselves be inspired to develop new ranges.

Some of the Armadillo&Co range – gorgeous!

A big part of our trips each year is to visit our weavers who create our beautiful rugs by hand. The intricate tradition of carpet weaving has been passed down through generations, so many of our weavers and artisans are indeed families.

All of these villages can only be reached by car after hours on unsealed small roads passing through farmers’ fields, buffalo herds and small neigbouring villages. After such long journey’s, we are always welcomed with open arms.

Our weavers are all carefully selected for both their hands and their heart – that is, not just their skills but their sensitivity to our design vision. And every individual is treated like one.

They are paid above average wages. They are integral to their local community’s livelihood. Most importantly, they are carrying on a lineage that deserves preservation.

We believe handicraft like theirs needs to be in good hands.

- Jodie x

Posted by Jenny at 5:55 am
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March 25, 2011 – 6:00 am

Interview – Jason Cesani of Printink Studio

Bespoke wallpaper designs by  Tinker / Printink Studio in North Melbourne

Tinker by Printink soft furnishings range, photographed by Paul Barbera

Printink studio in North Melbourne – photographs courtesy by Paul Barbera / Where They Create.

Today is a bit of a first.  My somewhat sporadic column in The Age Melbourne Magazine is BACK today after a bit of a hiatus (Angus Holland was very apologetic – he’s had a lot of content shuffling to deal with in the past few months!).  To mark this auspicious occasion, and to make the most of this wonderful ongoing opportunity to promote local design in an actual NEWSPAPER (amazing!), I have decided to do my best to link The Design Files’ interview content once a month with my Melbourne Magazine page!  How brilliantly organised is that?  We’ll see how long it lasts.

If you already have The Age, perhaps you will have spotted the ‘Printed Matter’ story, which rounds up the very best in locally printed design!  Of course many of the studios mentioned will be familiar to you guys – Spacecraft, Ink & Spindle, Bonnie and Neil… and the very talented peeps at Printink, who design and print the Tinker homewares and wallpaper range!

It was kind of hard to find someone in this mix who I hadn’t already interviewed (Stewart Russell – tick, Ink & Spindle – tick), but then it hit me – JASON CESANI – the perfect candidate!  In actual fact, this interview really is very long overdue… I met Jason last year when he took on a custom and somewhat mind-bending large scale print job for me… and it was then that I realised just how brilliantly talented and experienced he and the Printink team truly are.

Printink is run by Jason and fellow print lovers Nadia Husiak and Lisa Carroll, who met many moons ago while studying textile design at RMIT.  They offer a completely bespoke printing service for custom one-off printing, and in fact they print for many fab local designers you probably know such as Aunty Cookie and Castle.  Tinker is their own range of beautiful homewares, which can be purchased from their website and stockists Australia-wide.

Like pretty much every local creative I seem to meet these days, in addition to being extremely talented, Jason is also exceptionally NICE.  Truly.  So sweet and patient.  I’ve found myself dashing in to Printink’s North Melbourne studio on more than one occasion with some flustered last minute request, and he’s always so chilled and helpful and kind of zen about every challenge he’s ever faced with!   It’s very much appreciated by all you work with Jason!

ps) special thanks to super talented photographer Paul Barbera, for allowing me to share some of his shots of the Printink studio.  For many more beautiful shots please pop over to Where They Create.

CLICK HERE for the full interview and many more pics

Posted by Lucy at 6:00 am
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March 25, 2011 – 5:57 am

DANIEL EMMA – Brand new COLLECTION!

The brand new range of objects by Daniel Emma!

OK So I am kind of cutting Jenny Butler’s lunch here but HAVE YOU SEEN DANIEL EMMA‘S BRAND NEW COLLECTION!???

You saw it here first folks!  Get yourselves over to the Guest Blog asap for the full lowdown!  If *Wallpaper / Monocle / Coolhunting et al do not feature this within 6 months I’ll eat my hat.

Love your work guys!  What a pair.

Posted by Lucy at 5:57 am
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March 25, 2011 – 5:55 am

DANIEL EMMA – Our World – Milan and Beyond

This captivating week with DANIEL EMMA concludes with a very exciting and exclusive advanced viewing of the brand new Hemispheres Collection! Due to be launched in Milan next month, we are truly spoilt to be seeing these pieces so soon! Thank you Daniel and Emma for a sensational week on the Guest Blog- we wish you all the very best for what will no doubt be another excellent year for you both! – Jenny x

HEMISPHERES A series of desk accessories designed around the hemisphere. This work is a continuation on our previous collections, concentrating on simple, single form. We used a variety of materials and finishes to create unique delights.

As we mentioned yesterday we are off to Milan in 3 weeks time.  Coming with us will be our brand new collection of products designed especially for The Other Hemisphere exhibition to be held at Ventura Lambrate. We thought we would give you a sneak peek of the collection today, and also announce the launch of our brand new DANIEL EMMA website.  In the coming months we are involved in a few exciting projects, firstly is an exhibition at Object Gallery called Australian Design Now, which will be opened in April and the second thing on the horizon is a temporary library which we will design and build for the State of Design Festival in Melbourne in July.

Hemispheres Large Container and Hemispheres Brass Paperweight [bottom right]

Hemispheres Small Container [top] and Hemispheres Magnetic Dome [bottom]

Hemispheres Light – Off and On!

Before we sign off we need to announce the winner of our DANIEL EMMA Design Files reader’s giveaway, congratulations to Leah D!

Thanks so much for having us this week, we have had a blast :)

- Daniel + Emma x

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Posted by Jenny at 5:55 am
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