WHAT IT’S REALLY LIKE…
To be a homewares designer
I had always been fascinated by history and archaeology as a child.
I eventually ended up excavating a Hellenistic site on the Euphrates river in Syria near Aleppo over a number of seasons with a team from the Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Melbourne. Finding domestic and ceremonial pieces gave a social and design context to the lives and values of the people who were, in effect, our ancestors. The next transition occurred when I realised I enjoyed studying the profiles and construction of the ceramic shards we uncovered daily, not to mention the fact I really wanted to create some that were intact! After finishing my studies at ANU, I purchased a small kiln, taught myself glazing methods and various methods of production, and the rest, as they say, is history. I built my Pialligo, ACT, studio up and worked in it daily for over 16 years. After illness and just plain exhaustion I changed the way I worked and focused on design (in ceramics, glass and other media) and I now work collaboratively with production studios and artisans around the world.
Clay and glass offer different elements to a space.
Glass can be elegant and translucent, heavy and faceted, or even opaque and organic. Sunlight reflecting through glass casts a trail of colour that adds another level of beauty to the experience we have with an object. We work with blown-glass, which comes to life through the skill of each artisan. Clay too, in its various forms, allows us to feel and see texture married to form. Stoneware (from which we have made our main collection for over 20 years now) is durable and has been a mainstay of many utilitarian brands around the world. For me the beauty comes from designing an object that forms part of the daily rituals of life, and giving it a twist with a velvet-like glaze and a colour that speaks to you. Now we have added porcelain to our collection and this forms the bridge between the glass and the stoneware... it’s light and sometimes slightly translucent. I suppose that, to me, working with ceramics and glass is a natural pairing; both are found in nearly every culture around the world and museums and galleries highlight how their role in our lives constantly evolves.
We add new colours in both glass and ceramic ranges every year.
I never base my tones on the fashion cycle but rather on intuition or simply as the result of an evening walk with my dogs (I have two Belgian Shepherds, Truman and Leopold). As with a new shape, the inspiration for a new colour should be spontaneous not forced. My team in our Pialligo and Braddon stores joke about how I say ‘OK, now let’s add a soft pink based on the petals of this peony’. Nature is the best colour wheel there is. There are no rules and the combinations and possibilities are endless.
It’s tough to describe a ‘typical’ work day for me.
Normally I take my pups for a 40-minute walk (the first of two) and then I start on the emails to get them out of the way. If I have some line drawings or concepts I’m working on I may discuss these
with my team first thing in the morning and then let the ideas percolate over the day. I tend to do my best work at night when there’s no noise or calls. We started as a production pottery/studio and with the changes from a maker to a design company I now have to style and check over my stores. We also have an online store which necessitates photo shoots with new pieces and colours, and client meetings throughout the day. In summer it’s perfect to take the pups for an evening walk, as after gardens are watered the flowers surrender their fragrance to the cool stillness of the night air. I travel quite a bit during the year. Apart from having the privilege of working with some amazing craftspeople, I get the added benefit of viewing the history and layering of cultures. I work with small production companies or family-run studios throughout the Asia-Pacific region, although this is expanding as new opportunities present themselves. One of my favourite destinations would have to be India. To be so immersed in sensory overload and the cacophony of everyday life, whether it’s in Delhi or Lucknow or in the rural villages of southern India, where I work with a group of women who are keeping traditional loom weaving alive, and helping to empower unemployed older men and women. As a designer I need to consider how a vessel is used, how food ‘works’ on it, or how flowers fall in a vase. When I travel I get the visual stimulation of architecture and history along with that strange fusion of modern life.
Trying to decide on a favourite Bison piece is like asking me to name a favourite child!
There are numerous pieces that come to mind. Our iconic milk bottles (created from the memories of childhood breakfasts with my grandparents at Wentworth Falls; my grandmother had a small jug with the handle broken off. No need to waste that) or my ‘Beastro’ series. It may seem strange for someone who creates dinnerware and decorative pieces to pick pet bowls, but what I quickly realised was that people love their animals as much as family members. I certainly know I do.
Our design DNA takes me away from the ‘churn’ of designed obsolescence to a place where I can see generations of people enjoying our pieces.
The idea that a shape has a 12-month lifespan before being tossed out is anathema to me. Good design should fit seamlessly into our lives. It should make us feel better and if our colours tap into a memory for you, then all the better. One thing that was crystal clear to me from working on archaeological sites was that the shapes I dug up as domestic pieces could have been made today. They were ‘relevant’ and utilitarian but could have worked in any period in history. Despite all the protestations that we love change as people, we are consistently drawn back to elements or references that comfort us or offer a sense of the familiar.
I’m now getting the children of my original customers coming up to me and saying ‘I grew up with one of your dinner sets’,
or ‘this is still my favourite colour from when I was a toddler!’ Apart from making me feel as old as Methuselah, it shows we have endured. I do recall a very elderly lady contacting me about 15 years ago to let me know she used her Chef ’s Delight mixing bowl to make her bread dough every night. To have your pieces used and appreciated is so rewarding. Colour is our passion so to see and hear how people respond when they see the full collection is fantastic. Everyone is drawn to a colour for a reason, whether it be memories or association. One of the strongest pieces of feedback we get is about the fact that we are still based in Canberra; people ask me not to leave! bisonhome.com