Mary Featherston has been an influential force in Australia’s design world since the 1960s.
She worked in partnership with her husband Grant for more than 30 years, during which time, their small design studio was responsible for countless iconic furniture designs, not to mention the entire interior fit-out of the NGV building on St Kilda Road, designed by Roy Grounds in 1966!
Aside from her design work with Grant, Mary is a passionate designer in her own right, with a particular focus on children’s learning environments. She’s worked with schools and museums, and continues to work as a consultant and an advocate in this space.
I had a chance to speak with Mary about her incredible working partnership with Grant, the challenges of being a woman and a mother working in design in the 1960s, and her ongoing passion for designing innovative learning spaces for children.
Remember, you can view wonderful photos as you’re listening to this podcast, simply listen to the podcast using the Overcast or Pocket Casts apps!
Loved listening this morning. What a progressive and forward thinking woman – inspiring! Really enjoyed the critical thinking around design and accessibility/affordability. I was so interested in the thinking back in the 1950’s/60/70’s when architects Woolley/Boyd/Seidler brought architecturally designed off the plan living to the suburbs and made well planned/thought out design accessible to the everyday Australian. With the urban sprawl and estate style living – I have hoped that as a community we would take on the responsibility to place value on building to your surrounds, size of block and lifestyle. I am hoping that good home design for the Australian family becomes more affordable. Bring back the value of the backyard!