The first word

Eccentricity, seen through the Habitus lense, is a way to embrace design ingenuity, celebrate creativity and push ourselves to think outside that same old box. We look at clever solutions to genuine design problems, strictly avoiding design for design’s sake; there’s flair but there’s no superfluous waste.

Perfectly befitting the Eccentric issue, Stephen Todd – who’s built a bit of a reputation for himself contributing essays on art, architecture, design and fashion to newspapers across the globe, has given our feature section a bit of a shake up. Within it, he pens his thoughts on an Australian design identity – and whether such a thing exists – as well as a few words on life so far for Don Cameron, a rare furniture importer, friend and curator of interiors for Hotel Hotel, Canberra.

Marion Borgelt takes us in a slightly different direction when we visit her immaculate studio, refusing to buy into the notion that mess and creative license go hand-in-hand. But I guess that’s the idea with eccentric beings, they’re unpredictable and it’s part of their charm.

The houses that we visit, generously scattered throughout the region, all encapsulate great design in some form or respect. There’s a beachside abode on Sydney’s North Shore that’s more Brutalist than beach shack; a house atop the rolling hills of Buderim, Queensland, with a silhouette to emulate a viewfinder; and a modern terrace in Malaysia that’s found all the right angles.

So, this quarter we invite you to embrace the eccentricity hidden within. We invite you to get bold, get creative and get amongst it.

Welcome to the Eccentric issue! This quarter we’ve left no holds barred, completely embraced the theme and left nothing to the imagination...