venice – The Interiors Addict

Ross Gardam’s Duet Stool showcased at the Venice Biennale

The versatile and beautiful Duet Stool by Ross Gardam may have been handcrafted in Melbourne, but it is now taking centre stage at the Venice Biennale.

Showcased in the Biennale’s new $7.5 million Australian Pavilion (designed by Denton Corker Marshall), longstanding Australian furniture design supplier Stylecraft were commissioned to curate a selection of innovative locally designed pieces specifically for the space. Ross Gardam’s Duet Stool is among the products on show, with its gracefully slender shape making it a standout piece for both indoor and outdoor use.

The gently rounded curve of the seat provides a consistent element throughout the range. It is available in either a solid-ash or upholstered top for indoor use, or black recycled HDPE for outdoor durability. Bases can be powder coated in virtually any colour.

The Venice Biennale was founded in 1895 and is one of the most famous and prestigious cultural organisations in the world. For more information.

Photography by Haydn Cattach

10 things I learned from planning our wedding

1. A wedding planner or on-the-day co-ordinator can be a lifesaver! We used the lovely Katie Moore from Piccadilly Events. I was all over every detail of our wedding. I had spreadsheets and lists; LOTS of lists. So I wasn’t sure I really needed someone to help on the day (as well as my many generous friends who got stuck in) because I thought I’d already organised everything. Wrong! When there’s a wedding there is ALWAYS something else that needs doing! Katie was our wedding angel. So many guests commented on how fabulous she was.

That's Katie behind the flowers! — That’s Katie behind the flowers!

As well as the million things she probably did that I knew nothing about, she took the flowers from the church to the reception, made sure everyone knew where they should be and when and made sure my dad had a torch to read his speech with (he was seriously nervous that his eyesight was going to let him down, although I was of course oblivious!). When I arrived at the church, she produced a small tin of M&Ms, offered them to me and said: “Sugar hit?” Brilliant! Katie came to our rehearsal too so she knew the plan for the day as well as I did (we merged our respective run sheets!) and who all the key players were. I thoroughly recommend having someone like Katie as a go-to girl on the day. I told everyone that if they had any issues at all they should go and speak to the girl in the yellow dress (yes, she even told me what she’d be wearing in advance).

And she did all of this IN HEELS.

2. While we’re on the subject of extra pairs of hands, the next thing I learned (after a while) is that it’s okay to ask for help.