Part 2
Get ready to have a major urge to fill your home with fine furniture as we reveal two more local furniture designers and makers who call the Southern Highlands home.
Designer & maker: L.D. Malone
Vogue Living Australia have already heard about surō but have you? surō was launched last year by fashion photographer Hannah Roche and philosopher L.D. Malone. The pair, who live in Bowral, wanted to create a range of high-end, ethically-made products.
Their shared interest in heirloom jewellery, fine furniture, fashion, philosophy, art and the handmade, meant launching surō was a logical progression for them.
“I completed my Doctorate in Philosophy a few years back and worked mainly in academia and also in the publishing industry. I decided to study at the Sturt School of Craft & Design in Mittagong last year, undertaking the full-time fine furniture making course,” L.D said.
They describe their furniture style as “aesthetic utilitarianism;” “we aim to design and make something that’s both useful and a piece of art,” L.D said.
Their studio is located at the Sturt School of Design in Mittagong as it has all the necessary facilities on-site for them to make their furniture, homewares and jewellery full-time.
The pair apply a sustainable approach to their designs, sourcing timber from PEFC and FSC certified temperate forests that only grow toxic-free, green lumber. Woodworking techniques, including slow and considered traditional joinery are incorporated into their pieces.
The plans for the surō team in the next 12 months are simple; “to keep on designing and making and thinking and living,” L.D. said.
Find surō
Instagram: @surostudio
Designer & maker: Simon Kenny
Simon Kenny and Genevieve Furzer escaped ‘the big smoke’ 4 years ago and are enjoying the pace of country life. They live on a farm near Marulan, “the heartland of the Southern, Southern Highlands,” Simon suggests.
Throughout his 30-year career in visual communication, Simon dabbled in furniture design and construction. He made his first piece of furniture when he was 15, a coffee table for his sister.
An appreciation of fine design and a desire to support locally-made products prompted a change in career direction and the opening of The Mossy Store in (you guessed it!) Moss Vale.
“My furniture design philosophy is broadly in line with the Scandinavian design movement, with a little bit of Shaker in the mix”. Simplicity, minimalism, functionality and comfort are all elements that feature strongly in his work.
Australian hardwood and authentic milk paint are some of the materials of choice in Simon’s pieces.
From design to manufacture, the furniture creation process is about producing pieces that won’t end up as landfill. Simon’s furniture is well-designed and made to last and with prices ranging from $75 to $7.5K, there is something to suit all budgets.
Simon is currently working on some new designs that he will be ready to share and display in The Mossy Store soon.
Find Simon Kenny’s furniture
View and purchase exclusively at Mossy Store, 394 Argyle St, Moss Vale
Instagram: @mossystore_mv
Missed part one of this series? Find it here: Part 1
Are you a local designer and maker? We’d love to hear from you! Email us: hello@thefoldmedia.com.au