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An interview with Bonnie and Neil

Bonnie and Neil have achieved a bit of a cult following for their fabulous homewares. THAT fluro pink watercolour table cloth was everywhere (including my table) last year.

I chatted with with one half of the Melbourne duo, Bonnie Ashley. She’s a textile designer whose partner, Neil Downie, is a carpenter. Their two very different skill sets have come together to create a homewares range that features both timber boxes and tea towels and somehow works perfectly!

Neil Downie and Bonnie Neil
Neil Downie and Bonnie Neil

“We’ve worked together (outside our day jobs) for a long time, so looking back, it seems it’s always been obvious to us,” says Bonnie. “It’s just happened naturally. We officially started in February 2010, putting together the range to launch in August that year.”

Bonnie says working with Neil is really fantastic! “It’s great having complementary but different skills – it helps us look at things from different viewpoints. We don’t need to explain things too much to each other, so we work quickly.”