We are excited to announce that Matilda has partnered with Salt & Pegram, that supplies contemporary furniture to the contract market.
The brand new showroom off Brick Lane will be open for business from early February and will showcase Matilda’s entire range. When the paint is dry and the lamps illuminated please drop by and say hello to one of the team.
Leading online architecture and design magazine Dezeen presented products designed by some of the most innovative young designers and brands at the inaugural HOME Interiors show at Earls Court earlier this month.
Following a callout to Dezeen’s audience of over a million monthly visitors, founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs selected the 10 most promising product ranges submitted from around the world, of which we’re proud to say, that Matilda was one.
Matilda took the opportunity to launch Chrysalis by Lightly, decorative wall butterflies made from one off reclaimed fine bone china saucers. It’s a great up-cycling take on an English tradition combined with fabulous 1950s wall art.
Not surprisingly, Chrysalis was a highlight of the Dezeen stand and will be available for sale on Matilda’s online shop – stand by for the launch date.
Matilda was chuffed when Elle Decoration asked to feature five Coco Pendants in their Winter Whites feature, in the Feruary’s edition – out now.
Styled by the talented Emilio Pimental-Reid, the final product was nothing less than stunning and this short behind the scenes video explores the story behind his vision.
We’re excited to pass on the news that the British Government’s Design Council has announced a pioneering new partnership with one of Australia’s leading design bodies, the Integrated Design Commission of South Australia (IDCSA).
The partnership will see the establishment of a Design Review program for strategic development schemes in South Australia, and particularly in the capital. As the first of it’s kind in Australia, it will draw upon the Design Council’s expertise to establish a formal review program.
Design Review involves a professional review of proposed design schemes in the early stages – usually when a developer first tables their scheme. Following the review, the panel will present recommendations on the project. The whole process aims to create better public and private spaces, improving quality of life for the people who use them.
SA Government Architect Ben Hewett, (then) Premier Mike Rann and IDC Commissioner Tim Horton
The current South Australian Government Architect and head of IDCSA, Benjamin Hewett, will lead the Design Review program devised by the Design Council, whose members have already spent significant time in Adelaide training IDCSA staff and panellists.
“Design crosses boundaries and borders and is the creative force that turns new ideas for a better world into a reality,” says Chief Executive of the Design Council, David Kester.
“This new partnership between the Design Council and the government of South Australia will spread the many benefits of good design to communities and improve our everyday lives.”
The announcement comes ahead of Adelaide’s joint meeting of all State Government Architects at the end of 2011, in which a major focus will be ways the country can better promote “world class urban design and architecture” – sitting well with the new partnership.
The then SA Premier, Mike Rann commented: “How we [Adelaide] design, plan and build our public spaces, our buildings and products, contributes to our exceptional quality of life.
“This agreement with the UK’s Design Council represents a unique design partnership across cultures, time zones and latitudes.”
Just another great Australian/UK partnership joining Matilda in forging new connections with the antipodes – that’s what we like to hear.
Design Council
designcouncil.org.uk
Integrated Design Commission of South Australia
integrateddesign.sa.gov.au
Matilda designer, Henry Wilson, has taken out Australia’s richest design prize, the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award for 2011. Wilson’s ‘A-Joint’ – on show at designjunction in September – was acknowledged for its simplicity and practicality.
The A-joint is a simple joinery system, made from sand-casted alloy, which uses standard cuts of timber – that anyone could pick up from the local hardware – as the basis for creating tables, benches and other furniture.
Wilson’s idea was to create a design that celebrated standard materials and allowed the end user to dictate how they would ‘design’ their own furniture. “I sort of have this vision of these things being airdropped into disaster relief places and then, equally, sitting in someone’s plush home,” Wilson explains. There are no real boundaries as to where they can be used in my opinion.”
As the winner of the competition, Wilson receives AUD$30,000 to help build his career and develop the product further. “Each year the impact of these awards grows and grows,” said Jury member Richard Waller.
“These awards cast light on the everyday importance of design in all of our lives, and they reward and recognise a profession whose collective creative endeavours often remain un-thanked and anonymous within our culture.”
Wilson has already received a great deal of attention for the A-Joint, not to mention his other fantastic designs that question notions of originality, adaptation, materials and process – so we look forward to big things from the young designer in the coming months and years.
Congratulations Henry!
Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award
facebook.com/bombaysapphireDDA
Follow Matilda on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on the latest news, products and events, and for this month only, simply by “liking” Matilda’s Facebook page you’ll go in the draw to win a pair of Spun Lights by Justin Lamont of LifeSpaceJourney. The winner will be drawn on Monday 21 November and announced in our next e-news on Thursday 24 November. You have to be in it to win it! Get involved!
As designjunction closed its doors for another year, Matilda was just getting started. The exhibition has now set up shop in the SCIN Gallery on Old Street, where all the products are on show and available to buy. A number of products in the range are already being ‘Made in Britain’ – reflecting a core aim of the Matilda program.
We look forward to welcoming you into the space and bringing you more of the best in Australian design, right here in London.
Prior to the London Design Festival, Matilda was picking up momentum with coverage in three major national newspapers, The Independent, The Guardian and The Telegraph, while also being selected for the Blueprint 100% Design publication as the number two LDF must-see event out of 300.
We think the most impressive of all, was the recent coverage in the Financial Times where Jenni Carbins was quoted in the How to Spend It feature on Milan based Italian design matriarch Rossanna Orlandi (our hero!).
“As an Australian I believe that Australia exported lifestyle to the rest of the world. But lifestyle is what Rossanna Orlandi gallery exemplifies. It’s the cohesion between design, lifestyle, food, culture and the outdoors. For me its a treat, a place where you can restore your mind, heart, body and soul during that week, it’s nurturing and comforting.”
Read the whole article here.
Ahead of her visit to Australia with Prince Phillip, Her Majesty The Queen of England met with a number of UK-based Australians, including actors, models, authors and our own Jenni Carbins – Matilda Founder.
Jenni was invited to the reception to represent both Matilda and Australian design, alongside other famous Aussies, including Hugh Jackman, Elle Macpherson, Tim Cahill, Colette Dinnigan and designer, Marc Newson.
“Of course, it was a huge honour to meet Her Majesty,” Jenni says. “However, it was even more wonderful to have Australian design acknowledged and to see that Matilda is already having a real impact.”