KVADRAT MAHARAM X LOCAL DESIGN AT DENFAIR 2017

When approached by Denfair to activate and engage visitors within a 3m x 6m space, on entry to a large exhibition centre, the challenge became that, a challenge. Yet briefed along side, Kvadrat Maharam, the challenge became an exciting opportunity to explore their materiality and the extensive range of incredible textiles, fabrics & leathers available here in Australia. Local Design’s creative director Emma Elizabeth, took on the project and engaged a series of Australian design practices to further develop their already existing products and creative foot prints. Tom Fereday, Tom Skeehan, Dale Hardiman and Adam Lynch (Dowel Jones) joined the journey along side some of Australia’s incredible makers including: Stellen Workshop and The SD Element.

This was the first time the dynamo Dowel Jones duo had worked within the world of upholstery, so the only boundaries given to Dale & Adam from Emma, were specific fabric types and tones. Collaboration is all about pushing commercial boundaries and creating works without rules and regulations, exhibit A: Dowel Jones’s cat like creatures. Rising to the challenge of upholstering these solid steel forms was Canberra based maker, Geordie Ferguson, of Stellen Workshop. Upholstery is a physical and time consuming hand craft that can not be passed over to machinery. Hours and hours of sweat, literally blood and maybe the odd happy tear go into upholstered furniture pieces.

Geordie worked along side LOCAL DESIGN to conceptualise and make each designer their own personalised workmans jacket, along with “walking” that extra mile to create a series of shoes and accessories. As well as working with designers Dowel Jones on this project, Geordie works regularly with Canberra based designer Tom Skeehan, to craft the upholstery for Skeehan’s Hoshi collection, currently sold through Stylecraft. Projects like these allow designers to think positively outside their commercial box, with Skeehan working with Geordie to push further the Hoshi collection, to become literally engulfed by the world of Kvadrat Maharam textiles.

Designer Tom Fereday had collaborated earlier in the year, with Maharam leathers and their launch here in Australia, so he wished to explore that tonality further. Creating works that exposed and exploded ideas of process, form vs function, from spinning leather topped side tables, to panels of art that took over 20 hours of hand stitching by Darren and Stuart of The SD Element.

Projects like these don’t come to fruition without working along side, enthusiastic, go getting, back breaking creatives, who physically put their time, ideas and energy into collaborating on these type of projects with LOCAL DESIGN. Many thanks to all who were involved, including the designers, makers, Charlie White, team Max and You, Denfair and especially thanks to Kvadrat Maharam for supporting the design industry here in Australia.

To further discover the adventure through this collaboration scroll through the hashtag #KMxLD #DENFAIR17

Images by > Photographer | Charlie White Styling | Emma Elizabeth Set Build | Dowel Jones Clubhouse

© LOCAL DESIGN