I love discovering new, independent, local brands, and Billy Heckenberg is certainly one of those! How great are these zippered cushions? They’re designed to look like they’re drawn with texta that’s not quite filled in between the lines!
Maddy Duggan is the woman behind them, and she told me how the brand is in fact named after her great grandfather, William Heckenberg. Family’s important to her and she grew up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, surrounded by creativity and encouragement. “An obsession with art, design and photography throughout my life led me to complete a degree in Fine Arts at UNSW College of Fine Arts. From this point on, you could be sure to find me sitting at a sewing machine or with a paintbrush in hand, in a constant quest for creative fulfilment.”
Her range includes the colourful designs above as well as an amazing range of mix ‘n match monochromes. I NEED some of those ones in my life! You can never have too much black and white (and grey).
When designing, she likes to take something classic or traditional and mix it with something unexpected, like a metallic zipper down the middle. “Unafraid to mix prints and textures, building up layers and finding the right balance plays a huge part in the creative process,” she says. “Seeing beauty in life’s imperfections is an ongoing source of inspiration for me.”
The cushion covers, available online, are $69.95 and come beautifully packaged. For an original design, made in Sydney, I think it’s great value.
Everything is designed and made by Maddy from her Avalon studio and over the next 12 months she has plans to branch out into custom furniture restoration for individual clients. “My dream is to build a company, have a great team and keep it made in Australia.”
2 replies on “Billy Heckenberg: a great new cushion brand from Sydney’s Northern Beaches”
Love the cushion and design element of the zippers! Maddy’s enthusiasm shines through in describing her passion for creativity. Fabulous to see! Best wishes for the future success of your business Maddy. Jude x
We have just started stocking a selection of Maddy’s gorgeous cushions in our online store in New Zealand. (www.mintsix.com) We stumbled across them a few months ago and fell in love with the unique designs and fab range of colours. It was great to read here that her company was named after her great grandfather. Cheers, Talia 🙂