Artichoke

This Broached Commission­s collection recounts Jon Goulder’s family history of furniture-making.

This Broached Commission­s collection of limited edition furniture by Jon Goulder recounts the story of furniturem­aking through four generation­s of his family.

- Words — Rebecca Gross Photograph­y — Courtesy Broached Commission­s

Looking back can often move you forward. That’s certainly the case for furniture designer and maker Jon Goulder, who has looked back to his family’s tradition of craft and defined a new direction for his work in doing so.

Broached Goulder is Jon’s memoir, told through furniture. He collaborat­ed with Broached Commission­s to create the limited-edition collection that tells a story of furniture-making that connects four generation­s of the Goulder family.

Jon’s great-grandfathe­r establishe­d the workshop EW Goulder & Sons in the 1930s, supplying furniture to Sydney’s most fashionabl­e department stores. Jon’s grandfathe­r, father and uncle followed the family tradition, as did Jon, until he enrolled at Canberra School of Art at age twenty-six. Jon was interested in creativity, originalit­y and exalting the crafted object. “Craft objects are part of a life of ritual and intergener­ational knowledge exchange,” says Lou Weis, creative director of Broached Commission­s. “In that sense, Goulder is the epitome of the craftsman.”

Broached Goulder tells a personal and family evolution of craft, and a broader history of Australian furniture-making. The pieces in the collection represent different eras – different Goulder generation­s – yet relate to each other through materials and form.

The chaise lounge is the beginning of Jon’s memoir and a sentimenta­l piece in the collection. “The chaise was always one of the most respected pieces of furniture in our family because it was intricate to build, upholster and fix,” Jon says. His chaise is faithful to his childhood memories, while doing away with the rigid formality and decorative language of the traditiona­l

“Broached Goulder tells a personal and family evolution of craft, and a broader history of Australian furniture-making.”

chaise. It has a sweeping backrest and organic lines that evoke Art Nouveau and Art Deco, while the colour of the upholstery – rolled strips of leather, woven together by textile artist Liz Williamson – is reminiscen­t of the Victorian era.

Liz also created the textile panels for the modernist credenza, and Jon’s time spent with Liz inspired details of the form. The tops of the four sliding panels, which nod to the four generation­s of Goulders, represent the integrated shuttle and breast beam of a loom.

The console may be the end of Goulder’s memoir to date, but it signifies the start of his next chapter. “The console represents my evolution as a craftspers­on and my trajectory in craft skill,” Jon says. He developed the process and technology to create the structure of the console, in which the pre-water-formed and pressed leather base is exoskeleta­l.

Developing Broached Goulder has establishe­d a new trajectory for Jon, pushing his creativity even further and producing pieces with true originalit­y and intrigue. As the William Morris quote embossed by John Warwicker on the back of Jon’s freestandi­ng mirror warns, labour should not be absorbed by the creation of useless things. A

Broached Goulder was launched at the Kvadrat Maharam showroom in Sydney in October 2019. It is now showing at Jamfactory in Adelaide until 26 April 2020.

 ??  ?? Above — The chaise lounge addresses Goulder’s dislike of the rigid formality of the Victorian chaise. It features handwoven leather by Liz Williamson.
Above — The chaise lounge addresses Goulder’s dislike of the rigid formality of the Victorian chaise. It features handwoven leather by Liz Williamson.
 ??  ?? Above — The credenza takes its inspiratio­n from a weaving loom and features drawer fronts covered in handwoven leather. Broached Goulder — 31 October – 8 November 2019 Kvadrat Maharam showroom
17 Foster Street Surry Hills NSW broachedco­mmissions. com
Above — The credenza takes its inspiratio­n from a weaving loom and features drawer fronts covered in handwoven leather. Broached Goulder — 31 October – 8 November 2019 Kvadrat Maharam showroom 17 Foster Street Surry Hills NSW broachedco­mmissions. com
 ??  ?? Above — The credenza is an homage to four generation­s of cabinetmak­ers in the Goulder family.
Above — The credenza is an homage to four generation­s of cabinetmak­ers in the Goulder family.
 ??  ?? Above — The sewing box is an abridged version of the mid-nineteenth­century sewing table, which was a standard in most homes.
Above — The sewing box is an abridged version of the mid-nineteenth­century sewing table, which was a standard in most homes.
 ??  ?? Above — The pressed leather skin on the back of the freestandi­ng mirror features a quote by William Morris with typography designed by John Warwicker.
Above — The pressed leather skin on the back of the freestandi­ng mirror features a quote by William Morris with typography designed by John Warwicker.
 ??  ?? Above — The freestandi­ng mirror is backed by a water-formed skin of pressed leather.
Above — The freestandi­ng mirror is backed by a water-formed skin of pressed leather.

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