Tag: concrete homewares

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Art Designers Homewares

Artist Prudence Caroline Oliveri launches homewares range

After a feature on The Block and an array of magazine covers, Prudence Caroline Oliveri had enough courage to quit her day job as a make-up artist, and give painting canvases a red-hot go. However, practicing art full-time was not enough. So, she decided to create a homewares line, which launches today!

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With three core collections, the products are a combination of materials that make her heart sing: “velvet, concrete, textured cotton, leather, brass and colourful art!” Most distinctive is Prudence’s textiles range, which is digitally printed with her original artwork. “There are three cushions, a monster floor cushion and a throw. The prints I’ve used on the textiles are of my favourite artworks from the past year or so. The newest is the throw named Three Oh, which is constructed from the sold out limited edition print, Station 30.”

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Also on offer is a concrete collection, encouraged by Prudence’s concreter husband, as well as the introduction of her original artworks on paper. “In the concrete collection we have a natural and black stool with hand selected river stones. Plus concrete platters in natural, painted and washed. I have also printed my original artworks on paper – with stamped leather and brass detail logo.”

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She came up with the idea for a homewares line after moving house, and motivated by her beautiful new surroundings. “I was inspired by a mix of products in my home and wanted to blend them into things I could offer for others to put into theirs. My concrete home sprung ideas for smaller concrete items and my art brought about the idea of digitally printed art cushions with a velvet reverse and contrast piping.”

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While painting is still at the core of what she does, Prudence does admit she’s had a lot of fun with the new homewares line, so if time permits there’ll definitely be more to come! But for now you can get your hands on her current collection, with new original artworks and one-off concrete objects being added each month.

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Categories
Designers Homewares Interviews

Design Twins open one-of-a-kind homewares store in Sydney

For many, it will come as a surprise to hear that Design Twins has only been around for a year. So well-known is its name, and so synonymous is the brand with gorgeous, affordable, concrete homewares, you’d easily be mistaken in thinking couple Crystal Bailey and Mitchel Lindsay, were veterans in the industry.

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Crystal and Mitchel

However, while the business may be young, it’s anything but small, with Design Twins about to start its most challenging and exciting chapter yet: a Sydney homewares store! “Since we started Design Twins we’ve just been continuously inspired by the homewares industry and all the designers we’ve met while working on our business,” explains Crystal. “Subsequently, as Design Twins continues to expand, we wanted to create a space where we could make our signature pieces while celebrating the best of Australian designers and local artists. A homewares store, featuring our in-house studio, was just the perfect combination for this next step in our journey.”

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Opening tomorrow, the store, located in St Peters’ Precinct 75, will feature Design Twins’ exclusive handmade homewares, alongside some unique designers and limited edition pieces. Expect a store where you will not only be able to shop a beautifully curated selection, but where you can actually see Design Twins products being made. Also on offer is a kids’ corner, so parents can shop while kids play and every three months an art exhibition featuring local talent will take place.

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With the aim to present Australian brands and designers in a fresh, unique and interactive way, Crystal and Mitchel are determined to create a homewares store unlike all others. “In many cases, homewares stores just have shelves and items casually displayed, leading people to be unsure of how to style them within their homes or spaces. We’ve set up our store as if it’s an actual living space, providing people with an atmosphere that inspires them to be creative with the pieces they purchase! Plus, since we will be creating our own products in the back section of the store, it will allow us to meet and greet our shoppers on an entirely new level. It’s not just about shopping, but about an experience that excites people about homewares, art and creativity.”

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Opening a homewares store, you would think Crystal and Mitchel would have their hands full. Yet somehow, they’ve still managed to design many more products and even have a baby! “In the new store, we will be creating unique pots, where shoppers can literally come in, speak about a pot design with us, grab some lunch, come back and pick their one-of-a-kind lightweight pot up! We’ve also just recently collaborated on a special edition candle with Candlelit & Co and stay tuned for an upcoming collaboration with Ivy Muse. Oh, and we had a little baby boy, London! We are now the proud parents of two lovely little ones!”

Design Twins Store opens tomorrow (Saturday) at 10am.

Warehouse 7.02 | 75 Mary St | St Peters | NSW 2044 | Shop online.

Photography by Jacqui Turk

Categories
Furniture Homewares

Online shopping fix: Smoke & Stone

Listen up concrete lovers, there’s a new duo in town! With husband and wife, Scott and Alex Goodsir, having recently released a timeless collection of concrete side tables and decor.

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Their Newcastle business, Smoke & Stone, began only late last year when the couple started making concrete wares for their own home. With Scott having a background in concrete construction and cabinetry, and Alex having a love of furniture and homewares (which she admits were a bit too pricey for her to afford!), they decided the best bet was to make affordable pieces of their own.

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Not soon after, they added a website, began trading and the rest is history. With a range of bowls, planters, coasters, stools and side tables on offer, we personally can’t go past their Mr & Mrs Tri side tables, which feature beautifully crafted hairpin legs (in plain or colour). Extremely versatile you can use one as a bedside or pair two or more together to create a unique coffee table or sideboard.

Mr Tri

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Categories
Homewares

Olivia’s Fab Four Insta-Finds 06.05.15

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Olivia’s Fab Four is a weekly post that features my favourite finds on Instagram for the past week. To be in the running, all you have to do is hashtag your product photos #oliviasfabfour and tag them with my handle: @oliviashead.

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Here are this week’s beautiful products (clockwise from top left)

1. Jungle Leaf Dusky Pink, $145, from Bonnie and Neil. @bonnieandneil

2. Lanky Miss Petal, $170, from Vanessa Bean. @vbean

3. Roller Coaster Set (plain), $20, from Smoke and Stone. @smokeandstone1

4. Scandi Vase Yellow Set, $99, from Angus and Celeste. @angusandceleste

 I’ll be back with more next week! Olivia x

Categories
Interiors Addict

The Design Twins’ love affair with concrete

When Crystal Bailey and Mitchel Lindsay met last year, they had an immediate connection. They finished each other’s sentences and would spend hours on the phone talking late into the night. In all respects they felt like twins, even nicknaming one another ‘Twinnie’. So when the time came, after months of discussion, to launch their own business, the name came naturally: Design Twins.

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A unique handmade homewares brand, The Design Twins’ main obsession is concrete, making everything from pots, cups, pillows and hands out of the material.

“What I love about concrete is the fact that something so strong and simple can be moulded into structured, organic forms,” says Crystal. “It allows the mind to get creative and use it to create anything. I created a concrete birthday cake for Mitch’s birthday a few weeks ago!”

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Yet the idea to make homewares out of concrete didn’t come overnight, rather Crystal has stylist extraordinaire Megan Morton to thank for the inspiration. “In February this year, I attended her masterclass. It was life-changing! Literally. I left inspired and hungrier than ever to want to start something different. Something that came naturally to me, yet something different to what was out there in the world of homewares.”

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So armed with a visual diary, Crystal spent several weeks sketching and before long, the beginnings of the Design Twins range had formed. The next step saw the duo rock up to their local Bunning’s in a Mini and pick up a bag of concrete (they admit there were some strange looks!) and then, with their kitchen as their studio, they began making.

“We originally made a concrete pot by mixing up a bag of concrete and pouring it into a container,” explains Crystal. “Then we used a smaller container filled with rocks to make the hole in the centre. This simple idea then led to so many crazy ideas, which is how we made our lava pots, cups, pillows, coffee cup candles and skulls.”

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A favourite of mine (and of theirs) is the concrete pillow, which while not ideal for resting your head on, is perfect for your phone or keys! “I love the look on people’s faces when they pick them up for the first time, expecting a light pillow and realise it’s actually concrete,” says Mitch. “The texture, weight and individuality that come from concrete itself, just makes every piece so unique.”

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The pillow, alongside all their other homwares, is extremely unique, so it may come as a surprise that Design Twins is their first foray into traditional design; with Crystal previously a musician signed to Song Music and EMI Records and Mitch the owner of a gourmet grocer. But for Mitch, he doesn’t believe the lack of formal training has held them back: “I wouldn’t say we have the typical design background of some but we definitely have our own style of controlled madness to our creation processes and that’s what we love.”

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