Meet the maker at designedmade market - Hobart - Tasmania - 3-4 December 2022

Now in its eighth year, the market includes the works of more than 30 makers across furniture, jewellery, ceramics, textiles, glass, printmaking, and paper who have created sculptural and functional objects for the home and to wear.  

“The makers market is a dynamic platform to promote Tasmanian design and the work of our designers here on the island,” said Linda Fredheim, curator, and co-founding member of designedmade. 

“Tasmania has a long-standing reputation for contemporary art and design, and the market reflects the breadth of talented designers, artists and makers we have across diverse creative practices. 

“The market will feature pieces from award-winning designers and artists who have work held in collections here in Tasmania, the rest of Australia and around the world. Alongside will be works from emerging makers who are honing their skills and practice.” 

Established more than 25 years ago, designedmade represents, develops, and promotes excellence in the professional practice of contemporary design in Tasmania. In achieving this goal, the makers market has become a key event in Hobart with a loyal following on the island and beyond.  

“A focus of the market is about meeting the maker and talking about the ideas and process. Making is a labour of love. It takes many hours of planning and refining your ideas until you’re happy to share your work with others. These interactions are an important part of making.” 

Alongside the market is a small exhibition showcasing one-off pieces made by members of designedmade. This year’s theme is Experimenta.  

“We’re coming out of a difficult period with COVID. Despite the financial and creative stress, this time has also given us a chance to explore new ideas and ways of working using different techniques and materials.  

“During the past six months, we’ve been meeting regularly through a series of open studios to share our ideas and experimental pieces ready for this exhibition.  

“We are fortunate to hold the market and exhibition in the exquisite Hobart Town Hall Ballroom. It’s the perfect space to show and sell high quality contemporary Tasmanian design and art.”  

Designedmade Makers Market will be held on 3-4 December 2022 at the Hobart Town Hall from 9am-4pm both days. More information on designedmade and the market is available at

 http://www.designedmade.com.au/

The event has been made possible through a City of Hobart Creative Hobart Small Grant, and a Regional Arts Fund grant.   

About designedmade inc 

Designedmade inc. is a not-for-profit organisation formed in Tasmania in 1995 by a group of established and emerging designers and designer-makers. Their mission is to represent, develop and promote excellence in the professional practice of contemporary design in Tasmania. 

www.designedmade.com.au  

IMAGE LINK

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7ytnmz86reng5xv/AACf5Jk3iAwsYJhFjpMQEUvKa?dl=0

Designer, artist, maker biographies

Sonja Cook (Huon Valley)

Leather 

Sonja works from her studio in the Huon Valley. 

Sonja's love of making ‘things’ in general led her to leather craft 18 years ago. 

Her work is dominated by bag making, but lately she has begun tanning skins collected from roadkill animals and incorporating these in her work. This has given her the opportunity to extend her production process ‘from ditch to shoulder’ and has also allowed her to make her products more sustainably.

Rachel Dean, AKA Pony Black (Tasman Peninsula)

Fashion Design

Designer and maker Rachel Dean is best known as the designer/artisan behind the label Pony Black, the independent clothing studio located in deep, dark Southern Tasmania.

Often described as ethical, Tasmanian, stylish and fun, Dean’s Pony Black label is one that tells a story, drawing inspiration from travel, life, design, and culture.

In this collection Dean has focused on the whimsy and romance of the tutu and combined it with the fun and casual nature of a bomber jacket. With a focus on the tactile, Dean has explored the use of luxe faux fur, Italian wools, and designer silks. This is the luxury Bomber Jacket, unique and one of a kind.

Dean has called this collection the Strangelove collection - after the fabulous Kubric film from the 1960s.

Andrea Barker (Seven Mile Beach)

Ceramics

Andrea Barker works at the edge of the discipline of ceramics, her interest lies in antiquity and the archaeology of the vessel. 

Andrea's work explores the immense cultural and geographical networks that bind each of us throughout time into a contract between nature and culture through touch. 

Her objects are metaphor for human relationships with the world and our senses. Each piece gently presents a sense of curve and balance, enclosing space, time, memory, and emotion.

Nataša Milenović (Huon Valley)

Jewellery

Nataša is a German trained goldsmith based in Cygnet, Tasmania and specialises in small edition and custom jewellery. 

Her pieces are intuitive interpretations of fungi, lichen, and seaweed by utilising traditional techniques such as forging, fusing, and soldering mixed metals in a contemporary way. 

Penny Malone (Hobart)

Textiles

Penny Malone operates a studio-based textile/arts design practice in Moonah. 

Pattern is the central focus of Penny’s work, and she gains inspiration from both the natural and built environment. Her designs reflect a keen eye for detail and draw from an eclectic mix of past and present influences. 

Penny has been designing and hand printing fabric since the 1990s and textiles for interiors are a major component of her studio practice.

Linda Fredheim (Hobart)

Furniture design

Linda Fredheim is a furniture designer and maker based in Hobart. 

She has exhibited widely and undertakes furniture commissions and small production runs of bespoke packaging.

Of her practice she says, "I find designing and making furniture to be deeply satisfying as the design process allows you to solve practical problems of how we live, and I also enjoy the actual process of refining the design in the construction and creation of the piece."

Linda Chee (Huon Valley)

Fibre artist

Linda Chee is a fibre artist who lives and works in the beautiful Huon Valley, where she pursues her passion for creating eco dyed textiles and presenting workshops.

Duncan Meerding (Huon Valley)

Furniture and lighting design

Duncan Meerding is a furniture and lighting designer and maker based.

Much of Duncan’s work concentrates on overall form rather than intense detailing, with a particular interest in how light performs through and around objects. His work is informed by the making process and our impacts upon the natural environment.

Till Julien (Channel region)

Textiles

Till is a textile artist creating contemporary hand screen printed textiles for the home from her studio in southern Tasmania. 

Through her textile practice, Till explores relationships between the illustration of living forms and the creation of printed cloth and functional objects. Her design philosophy focuses on combining elements from the natural world and placing these forms and patterns into domestic interiors, aiming to produce work with a conscience of sustainability and beauty. 

Till says, “I am inspired by the capability of what a seed or bulb can transform into and to reveal what was living and growing under the soil. It's exciting for me to illustrate these living forms, into bold and playful prints for cloth and functional objects.”