Homes

Stephanie Jane Rampton

Today we visit a converted warehouse in Collingwood, which is both a home and studio for printmaker Stephanie Jane Rampton.

Originally from the UK, Stephanie and her late husband moved to Melbourne (via Hong Kong) in 1997. They landed in Collingwood, and quickly fell in love with the area.

Recently, Stephanie decided to give her much loved home a contemporary update – and made some new friends in the process.

Written
by
Lucy Feagins
Supported by Dulux

The Collingwood home of artist Stephanie Jane Rampton. Above – Kitchen, featuring oak and walnut joinery, mild steel splashback and island surround by Matt Staples. Artworks by Stephanie Jane Rampton, Luke Sciberras, and Nicholas Blowers.  Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Kitchen.  Solid oak cabinetry Matt Staples. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Kitchen shelves. Stephanie’s china collection, inherited or collected on travels around the world. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Dining area. Campaign chairs from Tarlo and Graham, bowl and jar from Hong Kong. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Lounge area. Stool and stepladder from Nook Vintage. Artworks by  Sheridan Jones, Marco Luccio, Stephanie Jane Rampton, Chris Ingham, Soula Mantalvanos, Kevin Foley, Lisa Roet, Tom Civil, Jasmin Isobe, Zoë Geyer and Tim Jones. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Bathroom. Mirrored steel cabinet custom made  by Paul Skinner. Tiles from Urban Edge Ceramics with tiling by Idyllic Tiling. Sink from Schotts. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Bedroom details. Painting by Adriane Strampp. Bedside table is a vintage singer sewing machine.  ‘My Grandma was taught to sew on this Singer sewing machine, and it is definitely the heaviest thing I have ever shipped from England!’ says Stephanie. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Details from Stephanie’s home studio – prints, artworks and print plates. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Stephanie printing in her mezzanine home studio. ‘I love looking at the treetops and sky when I’m working at the press, the light up here is perfect,’ says Stephanie. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Garden. Table built by Matt Staples and the chairs were a bargain find at Swan Auctions. ‘This espaliered apple tree that has never borne fruit was here when I arrived, I’ve continued to train it with the help of Darryn aka The Little Garden Guy,’ says Stephanie.  Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Garden details. ‘Jethro my cat tried to photobomb every shot but was only allowed in this one!’ mentions Stephanie. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Writer
Lucy Feagins
20th of July 2016

Originally from the UK, Stephanie Jane Rampton moved to Australia with her late husband in 1997, after 13 years working in Hong Kong. She and her husband bought their converted warehouse home in Collingwood in 2004.

After more than a decade here, Stephanie decided to give her much loved home a contemporary update around eighteen months ago – and made some new friends in the process. She started by selecting new oak floorboards for the upstairs rooms, and enlisted a local tradesman, Matt Staples, to lay them. Little did she know she had hired someone who would soon become a dear friend. ‘Both Matt and I studied art in the UK, and soon found we had a lot in common, including a love of Ska and old punk bands!’ Stephanie says.

Stephanie was impressed by the creativity Matt and his team brought to the job, and before long, she had enlisted him to tackle a host of other tasks, including a major kitchen renovation. ‘I’d been considering a new kitchen for a while and decided here was the man for the job’ Stephanie recalls.

Matt designed and built the kitchen using oak and walnut timbers with mild steel worktops, and open shelves hanging from cleverly designed industrial steel brackets. ‘I trusted Matt to be as creative as he liked with all the design aspects, there was no drawn up plan, just scribbles on scraps of paper as we went along – but it worked.’ Stephanie says.

Stephanie thoroughly enjoyed the renovation process, taking great delight in making creative decisions along the way, rather than having a rigid plan from the outset. As an artist, she also relished the chance to collaborate with so many speciality tradespeople – from creative tilers to painters and joiners. ‘One of the pleasures of the whole thing was Matt bringing in tradesmen that he knew and trusted’ she says.

Had she planned in advance for what eventually became a fairly major renovation, Stephanie says she might have considered moving out for a few months. As it turned out, she’s glad she didn’t. ‘Everyone worked well together so there was always a feeling of camaraderie, and lots of laughs’ she says. ‘It was great fun!’

Stephanie is represented by Port Jackson Press in Collingwood, Queenscliff Gallery and Workshop, and Lauriston Press in Kyneton. Her meticulous work is currently on show in a collaborative exhibition entitled ‘Hiraeth’ with Danielle Creenaune at Port Jackson Press, on now until August 4th.

Living area and art wall. Prints and drawings mostly from Port Jackson Press. Artists include Stephanie Jane Rampton, Marco Luccio, Kirpy, Freya Jobbins, Adriane Strampp, Kevin Foley, Meg Bates and Issy Oddie. Walnut and steel shelf custom built by Matt Staples. All chairs from Tarlo and Graham. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

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