COLLABORATION. It’s a bit of a buzzword right? A lot of people talking about it… but, how many businesses really put genuine collaboration at the heart of their practice?
Design Stables is one creative collective that really walks the talk. Based in Perth, this diverse group of eight small design studios have come together with a common belief in the power of collaboration.
Design Stables is a small collective of Perth design studios who joins forces for various projects. Photo – Angelita Bonetti.
Established in 2016, the collective is based in Perth, Western Australia, with affiliated studios in Queensland. Photo – Angelita Bonetti.
Members of Design Stables (left to right) Tracy Zorich, Director of Tracy Zorich Interiors; Kerry Smart, Commerical Director of LAHAUS Studio; Adam Paikos-Coe, Principal at Cusp Design Studio; Fiona Chong, Director ofTemplewell; Zenida Bowring, Director of Rezen Studio; Kimberley Tan, Director of Studio Atelier; and Lara Staunton, Creative Director of LAHAUS Studio (absent: Jcd Interiors and Agent Interior Design). Photo – Angelita Bonetti.
Adam Paikos-Coe, Principal at Cusp Design Studio and Tracy Zorich, Director of Tracy Zorich Interiors. Photo – Angelita Bonetti.
The platform has grown organically through conversations between like-minded studios. Photo – Angelita Bonetti.
‘Design Stables is an organic concept that’s more akin to a conversation then a preconceived structure,’ tells Adam Paikos-Coe, Principal at Cusp Design Studio. Photo – Angelita Bonetti.
LAHAUS Studio exterior. Each studio has complementary skills and experience, uniting architectural and interior design disciplines, as well as commerce and business development. Photo – Angelita Bonetti.
‘Design Stables is an organic concept that’s more akin to a conversation, than a preconceived structure.’ – Adam Paikos-Coe, Principal at Cusp Design Studio.
Originally launched in 2016 by interior architect Zenifa Bowring of REZEN Studio, Design Stables was the answer to a specific question – ‘How could we do this differently?’
Having owned and run a mid-sized design practice prior to having children, Zenifa noticed a growing trend within her peer group. ‘I kept seeing designers who had been working at Senior levels, starting their own small studios after having children’ Zenifa recalls. ‘As freelancers or small studio operators, these experienced designers were being approached to deliver large projects, but didn’t have the resources or support base to deliver’. Zenifa realised the answer was collaboration.
After a conversation with two other Perth-based designers (Leonie Edwards of Agent Interior Design and Jessica Ciccarelli of JCD Interiors, Design Stables was born.
What’s interesting, is that a number of businesses within Design Stables would traditionally be seen as competitors. However, the genuine emphasis on mutually beneficial outcomes ensures that every member of this collective really does prioritise the greater good. ‘Perth is a competitive market and one of the Design Stables “Rules of the Game” is about raising the baseline of the design industry itself,’ says participating designer Adam Paikos-Coe, of Cusp Design Studio.
‘Design Stables is an organic concept that’s more akin to a conversation than a preconceived structure,’ adds Adam. ‘The collective share a vision and intention to create a creative, supportive space where creativity and collaboration is the platform underpinning their practice. The result is an empowered and motivated group of individuals, with an unexpected alchemy.’
Participating studios include Cusp Design Studio, REZEN Studio, Lahaus Creative Studio, Temple Well, Tracy Zorich Interiors, Studio Atelier, Jcd Interiors, and Agent Interior Design. Each studio has complementary skills and experience, from architectural and interior design disciplines, to commerce and business development. Collectively, the group specialises in single and multi-residential design projects in retail, hospitality and commercial workplace, as well as workplace strategy, education and health care. They also work with local craftspeople to create bespoke furniture, fittings and art.
Find out more about Design Stables on the website or by following Instagram.
