The design was developed from Epicormic Clamp designed by Harriet Watts as part of the Bushfire Collection by The Fortynine Studio.

The clamp explored the idea of adaptable and quick assemble furniture using standard and readily available materials for our temporary and changing interior spaces. It took inspiration from the new growth that occurs on many Australian tree species after fire. This epicormic growth stems from buds that often lie protected underneath the thick layer of bark.

The light was informed by these ideas. We developed the by using materials and forms that would build on this story and allow the piece to be simply and locally made.

The piece is predominantly made, assembled and finished at The Fortynine Studio, and uses local makers for some components where necessary.

Desk Top Pot

Designed by The Fortynine Studio

Made by hand at The Fortynine Studio workshop in Sydney, Australia using local terracotta clay

Available through The Fortynine Studio Online Store

The Desk Top Pot is a range of indoor pots that draws on the beauty of plants and the simplicity of natural materials. The pots are bold and animated in character, bringing life to any indoor space.

The design emerged from the problem of keeping indoor plants well-watered, healthy and happy; without worrying about water leaks, condensation, or the constant rotation and moving of pots.

We really want people to be close to nature in their everyday lives, both at work and at home. The pot encourages a strong connection to nature through both the plants, and the use of raw, earthy terracotta in making the pot.

The pots are made to neatly fit a standard 140mm plastic pot available from any nursery. This allows the plants to easily be swapped out and changed when needed. The feet allow airflow under the pot so there is no build-up of condensation, making the pots safe for any surface. The pots are glazed internally to ensure they are watertight. Each pot is hand decorated with slip in various patterns, giving each its own unique character.

The pots use clay from Western Sydney and are once-fired using solar power to minimise their environmental impact.

No matter whether you are in the office or at home, you can always have a plant close by with the new Desk Top Pot range from The Fortynine Studio.

Desk Top Pots are available in 3 styles; single, double and hanging.

Photographs 2-3 © Jacqui Turk

Photographs 1, 4-6 © Andy Lewis

Portions is a series of ceramic platters and smaller sets of pieces that lightheartedly explore how food can be used to inspire and create surface pattern on clay. They each use different techniques including stamping, spraying, rolling and painting.

Pieces are available for sale and commission.

Avocado is a simple brushed pattern inspired by the beautiful forms of avocados.

Willow is a playful interpretation of the traditional willow pattern, with all marks being created only by stamping food such as broccoli, beans, corn and chilli. The pattern represents the main elements of the traditional motifs.

Sprout has been created by laying bean sprouts over the piece, and spraying colour over the top, leaving a subtle silhouette on the surface. 

Each platter was accompanied by sets of four bowls and dishes, with the intention that each set could be used to share a meal.

The Belgenny Farm Trust are restoring The Creamery to create an interpretation centre that tells the story of dairy production from the early settler period until today. Here, the milkpans will be on display as objects and used to show school groups and other visitors how cream was separated from the milk for the production of butter.

The milkpans are based on archaeological fragments from the National Museum of Australian Pottery, and archaeological analysis and records from the Brickfield Hill area in Sydney. This area is just down the road from our studio, near where Haymarket is today.

The pans were made by hand in our studio, employing traditional materials and methods. We developed a food safe glaze that is similar in colour and opacity to the original lead based glaze.

These were common objects during the early settlement period, and were later replaced by metal pans as manufacturing processes advanced in Australia.

If you would like to commission a milkpan, please email us at info[at]thefortynine.com.au.

Harriet wants the audience to first see the works as soft, malleable knitted forms, and then to experience surprise and disbelief upon studying the objects more closely. The objects themselves are each familiar and unremarkable, their novel qualities playfully challenging our habitual assumptions about materiality, form and function.

The pieces are available for purchase through 1-OK CLUB.

Materials Southern Ice porcelain, pigment

Photography © Elise Wilken / Styling by Nat Turnbull

The Lazy Season

Designed by Ben Elbourne, Sarah Spackman and Harriet Watts of The Fortynine Studio, with designer Carly Vickers, and Georgina Reid of The Planthunter

Made by hand at The Fortynine Studio workshop in Sydney, Australia using local terracotta clay and featuring cast bronze prop

Exclusively available in Australia through The Fortynine Studio Online Store, and at Loose Leaf in Melbourne

Ben Elbourne, Sarah Spackman and Harriet Watts of The Fortynine Studio, together with Carly Vickers, have collaborated with The Planthunter founder and landscape designer Georgina Reid to create the Lazy Season.

The Lazy Season is a hemispherical self-watering pot that comes with a bronze prop to enable the pot to be placed at any angle. As the sun moves through the sky seasonally, the angle of the pot can be adapted so the plant can follow it. Circular coloured areas at the base of the pot reference the changes in the sun’s angle between summer and winter. The internal water reservoir is separated by a removable wicking floor, meaning there’s no need for a saucer.

This highly resolved and very beautiful object is more than just a plant pot. It can be used indoors and out, placed on an angle or not, and turned like a lazy susan. It can even be used as the perfect fruit bowl, paperweight and trivet set (if you happen to kill your plant!). The Lazy Season is an extremely adaptable and wondrous thing.

Made by hand at The Fortynine Studio in Sydney, there will be a limited edition of just 49 pots made, so get in quick! Handwritten edition numbers along with The Fortynine Studio and The Planthunter makers marks feature on the wicking floor of each pot.

The Lazy Season is available in 6 colourways through The Fortynine Studio Online Store, at Small Spaces in Sydney, and at Loose Leaf in Melbourne.

Images 2-5: © Daniel Shipp

Images 1, 6-7: © Andy Lewis

A new and exciting space, the project sought to create a relaxed and homely feel within a workplace environment. A series of playful, animated plant pots were developed through experimentation with flop moulding and slab forming techniques. Made using local terracotta clay, each pot features hand painted slip decoration and a unique set of feet, adding to their individual character. Glazed on the interior to make them waterproof, the planters were designed to accommodate standard sized plastic pots that would be filled with hired plants and changed as needed.

The pots are dotted throughout a shelving system that also features a selection of Banksia Lights, designed by Ben Elbourne.In collaboration with interior designer Saul Garcia, The Fortynine Studio also developed and made bespoke copper fixtures for the space. Coat hooks from folded copper sheet were made to measure, and a set of spun copper pencil holders brought a new level of detailing and craftsmanship to the commercial fitout.

Made by hand from Australian Blue Gum and copper and rubber, the stools were inspired by Ben Elbourne’s Macrocarpa table, part of The Bushfire collection that was exhibited at Ventura Lambrate, during Milan Design Week 2014.

In response to the burned-out interior of the new cafe space, the legs of the stools were given a blackened finish, which contrasts with the polished copper fittings and waxed timber seat. The materiality of the stools reflects the renewal of the space after fire just as the Macrocarpa table explores regeneration and renewal following a bushfire.

Also made from Australian Blue Gum and steel, the tables are designed to be cake and coffee resistant. The solid timber tops are finished with a waterproof sealer while the sturdy legs are powder coated black.

Images © The Fortynine Studio

By exhibiting objects designed and produced with beauty and longevity in mind, Project 30 aims to elevate the idea that the objects we live with shouldn’t merely be functional. Through considered design decisions and craftsmanship, the objects we use and surround ourselves with have the potential to enrich our daily lives.
– Kenny Son

Project 30 featured work by Bianca Chang, Kwangho Lee, Hyun-seok Sim, Kenny Yong-soo Son, Sarah Spackman and Henry Wilson and was exhibited at Small Spaces, Redfern, November 19 – Dec 3 2014.

Materials Australian porcelain, carbon, copper
Dimensions 60mm high x 75mm diameter

Flip Flop Slip Mountain Range

Designed by The Fortynine Studio / surface pattern designed by Harriet Watts

Made by hand at The Fortynine Studio using Australian stoneware

Available through The Fortynine Studio Online Store / Greedilulu

Commissions and custom work available to order – please get in touch for more information – info[at]thefortynine.com.au

The Mountain range is a series that builds on our classic Flip Flop Slip range of ceramic tableware. The surface pattern was developed by Harriet Watts through play and experimentation of process with the aim of creating a textured, illustrative and random pattern. The use of cobalt gives a richness of depth and variation to the pattern, allowing each piece to tell a unique story. The process of creating the pieces individually and by hand mean that no two pieces are the same.

Pictured Above: One of the original development pieces for the Mountain range.

Hand made from copper using jewellery techniques, the atomiser brings the finishing touch to the serving trolley that supports it.

The aesthetic of the Elyx Martini Trolley is clean, simple and bespoke, with emphasis on integrity, honesty of materials and function. The trolley design takes an interpretation of the avante garde 1920’s and fuses it with an early industrial functionality that pays homage to iconic brands like Olivetti. The Carrara Marble Surface is treated as a landscape whose function is finely tailored to the making of the perfect Elyx Martini.

Project Manager and Designer Sarah K
Atomiser design and prototype manufacture Sarah Spackman
Trolley design and prototype manufacture Blakebrough + King

________________________________________________________________________________________________ Images © Andy Lewis

The Other Hemisphere Espresso Cup and Saucer

Designed by The Fortynine Studio in collaboration with SarahK

Cups made by hand at The Fortynine Studio in Australian porcelain with glazed interior

Saucers manufactured in Smokey Ash

Available through The Fortynine Studio Online Store.

The Espresso Cup was developed for use in, and launched at, a pop-up cafe at The Other Hemisphere Exhibition at Ventura Lambrate during Milan Design Week 2014.

The unglazed coloured exterior of the Espresso cups reference the double shot that the cup holds, and acts as a contrast to the white glazed interior. The saucer fits snugly inside the curved interior of the saucer.  It’s like they were made for each other…. they were.

Images 1-4 © Andy Lewis

Images 5-6 © The Fortynine Studio

The collection is an exploration and expression of Australia’s unique understanding of the regenerative aspects of bushfire. Drawing from the Australian landscape, five objects relate to one another through materiality, finish and colour, with each object designed to function both individually and as part of the suite. Tinderlight by Lauren Austin represents the ignition of fire, borrowing from seedpod forms.Macrocarpa by Ben Elbourne is a table that explores the stages of bushfire and regeneration. Materials have been carefully chosen and layered so that the table can survive and change through fire.Operculum by Sarah Spackman is a copper and natural fibre brush that takes its form from native flora. The user is able to replace the bristles after they wear out with locally available fibres or other material.Integument by Carly Vickers’ is a bowl that references the contrasting smooth interior and resilient exterior of seedpods that open up during fire.Epicormic Clamp by Harriet Watts takes its lead from the new growth that appears on trees after fire. The clamp allows the user to create, and make additions to, structures with readily available materials in standard sizes.The works make use of local and reclaimed materials including native plant fibres, timber, copper and ceramic, and have been developed using local manufacturers in combination with a number of hand finishing techniques.

The collection was launched with ‘The Other Hemisphere’ at Ventura Lambrate during Milan Design Week in April 2014.

The Other Hemisphere was also exhibited at DesignEX Sydney in May 2014.

Images courtesy The Other Hemisphere © Andy Lewis

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body

Designed by The Fortynine Studio for Jardan.

Made by hand at The Fortynine Studio using local stoneware

Available exclusively through Jardan in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia

Raw is an exclusive range of bowls, plates and serving platters designed and developed by The Fortynine Studio for Australian furniture company Jardan.

Made in our Sydney studio, each piece is molded, painted and finished by hand meaning no two pieces are exactly alike. The range is available in four colours and is suitable for serving, dining and decorative use.

For enquiries contact info@jardan.com.au

The series explores the use of various materials including silk, cotton, raffia and jute, as well as Australian native plants, and common house plants including Nephrolepis ssp. and Dracaena ssp.

Many of the techniques explored have been learned from Indigenous Australian fibre artists and weavers.

The aim of the series is to develop a deeper knowledge of weaving techniques and to investigate locally available weaving materials to consider their potential applications across object design, ceramics and furniture.

Images © Keaton Stewart 2013

Banskia Lights were incorporated into the landscape, juxtaposed against the flora, showing their inspiration and playful interpretation of the Banksia flower.A graphic mural painted on one wall shifted the mood, highlighting the pattern of light and shadow the lights can create.A brightly lit information room allowed visitors to step outside the installation, view the lights in their various sizes and colours, and collect relevant information about their availability and specification.The installation was curated and designed by studio members Lauren Austin, Ben Elbourne, Sarah Spackman, Carly Vickers and Harriet Watts.

To see more photos from the launch head to our Facebook page.

Special thanks to Cheryl Hajje and Kenthurst Nursery for supplying all the spectacular native plants.

Second image courtesy Jamie Williams Photography. All other images © The Fortynine Studio 2013

‘Harriet’ reversible Clutch

Designed by The Fortynine Studio for Eastern Weft

Made by hand in Sydney from antique Hilltribe textiles, reclaimed leather or suede, and Eastern Weft 100% Lao woven silk

Available through The Fortynine Studio Online Store / Collector Store / National Portrait Gallery of Australia / A.nouk

The Fortynine Studio + Eastern Weft is a range of contemporary, functional textile and leather accessories. With a focus on zero waste, the range is handmade in Australia using traditional weaving and textile techniques and is part of a series of collaborations between Eastern Weft and Australian Designers including Sydney based T – S Takahiro Shirai and Stephanie Said.

Founded by Samorn Sanixay and Kaisy Sophabmixay, Eastern Weft is based in Vientiane, Laos and provides sustainable livelihoods for exceptionally skilled young weaver women. They produce stunning hand-woven textiles made entirely by hand from raising the silk worms, spinning the silk, dyeing the yarn using natural, locally grown materials such as indigo, ebony and marigolds, and weaving the textiles.

Designed by The Fortynine Studio, the Harriet reversible clutch, below, comes in a variety of colours and features antique South East Asian textiles, handwoven Eastern Weft silks and cottons and locally sourced salvaged leather. Each clutch is unique and is designed and constructed by hand right here in Sydney.  While the range is still in development the Harriet clutch is now available for sale and order through the Eastern Weft website and various stockists. Visit www.easternweft.com.au for more information and to see designs by T – S as well as Eastern Weft’s stunning handwoven textiles and scarves.

Eastern Weft and The Fortynine Studio were the ‘designers in residence’ at the Workshopped Studio, Object: Australian Design Centre during April – July 2013.

Flip Flop Slip borrows form and texture from found vessels and remnant textiles. The range is produced in small quantities with each piece made and painted by hand using local stoneware clays and our own range of colours developed in our Sydney studio.

To enquire about stocking the range please get in touch – info[at]thefortynine.com.au

We also make one off pieces and custom dinner sets on commission. For more information on pricing and lead times send us an email – info[at]thefortynine.com.au

The Flip Flop Slip range was developed from a selection of pieces produced on commission for the cookbook ‘Easy’, by Bill Granger. You can read more about the pieces made for the book here.

Scrub Series Cards and Wrap

Designed by Harriet Watts

Printed in Sydney

Available through The Fortynine Studio Online Store / Object Australian Design Centre

Scrub series is a series of prints inspired by the Australian landscape and flora, including grass and Banksia species. Through abstraction and repetition, simple continuous prints are created.

Cards: 148mm x 105mm (A6 postcard size)

Wrap: 594mm x 420mm (A2) – 80gsm

Images © The Fortynine Studio

Working predominantly with white stoneware, simple forms were slab rolled then flop moulded with the surfaces decorated using slip and pigments prior to firing. Textures from remnant textiles were also applied to some surfaces.

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Images from the book © photographer Mikkel Vang
All other images © The Fortynine Studio

Thank you to Jacqui Clayton and Petra Svoboda for their support and assistance in making this project happen.

The graphics were designed to encourage people into the building and abstractly guide them around the space during Art and About 2012, which saw numerous creative studios within the City of Sydney network open for the public.

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Designed and made by Ben Elbourne and Sarah Spackman, each cube features hand-painted illustrations depicting Australian native plants intertwined with typefaces to represent the 26 letters of the basic Latin alphabet. Both the plant species and typefaces begin with the letter they have been chosen to represent.

Designed for use and play, letters were assigned to the faces of the cubes according to their frequency of use in the English language, thus maximising the possibility of word-forming combinations using letters from all six blocks.

The series is constructed and painted by hand using reclaimed plywood, informed by the size, quantity and qualities of the repurposed materials.

Genotype was part of the exhibition ‘Who Shot the Serif’ at He Made She Made, Sydney, August 2012.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________>>> Genotype in ‘Who Shot The Serif’ at He Made She Made

Banksia Light

Designed by Ben Elbourne

Manufactured in Sydney in powder-coated mild steel

Available in White, Yellow, Orange and Blue

Available as a floor and pendant light

Available through The Fortynine Studio Online Store

Commissions and custom work available to order – please get in touch for more information – info[at]thefortynine.com.au

Banksia is a series of floor, table and pendant lights developed from an investigation into Australian native flora.

Australian design can be shy when it comes to the use of our native species but it wasn’t always so. Sometimes beauty is right before your eyes but you have to know where to look and what to look for.

Designed by Ben Elbourne, Banksia light creates an appreciation for what inspires him every day and brings this form to both those who may have missed it and those who know it alike. The design takes an abstracted two dimensional pattern, derived from a flower that blends into its environment and is hidden from human perspective, translating it back into a three dimensional form.

Banksia lights are available in 2 sizes – Standard 300 x 225mm and Mini 200 x 150mm. Both sizes feature a standard bayonet fitting and can be used as floor, table and pendant lamps. Available in brushed aluminium and powder coated mild steel in orange, white, blue and yellow. Other colours can be arranged. Custom sizes can also be developed.

Available to purchase through the studio. For pricing and inquiries please send us an email inquiries(at)thefortynine.com.au

Part of the official program for Sydney Design 2011, ReForm emerged from the theme ‘is old new again?’, and aimed to revalue discarded materials, questioning why we consider things old or unusable.

The project began by collecting materials and objects from Sydney’s council clean-ups, streets and laneways. Redesigning, reworking and refinishing materials, a range of furniture, lighting and homewares were designed for exhibition and sale.

As part of the project, a brief was sent out to other designers, asking them to contribute works and collaborate with The Fortynine Studio on the project. Works by seven designers were exhibited alongside those of members of The Fortynine Studio.

ReForm was held in Tosh Lane, Zetland, The Fortynine Studio curating the works back into the laneway environment, reiterating their comparative new value.

ReForm was featured by Powerhouse Museum Citywide Producer Debbie Pryor as a highlight of the Sydney Design 2011 program.

Following the exhibition for Sydney Design week the project was subsequently exhibited at Gaffa gallery, Sydney.

Project Management, Exhibition Design and Curating The Fortynine Studio
Furniture and Object Design Chantelle Baistow, Rosie Krauss and Emma Van Lindt, Dave Langley, Aldous Massie, Ria McIlwraith and Holly Phillip with Lauren Austin, Ben Elbourne, Sarah Spackman, Carly Vickers and Harriet Watts for The Fortynine Studio

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>>> One Door Down by Ben Elbourne>>> Around the World by Harriet Watts>>> Pair of Patterned Perches by Carly Vickers>>> Framed Nude by Harriet Watts>>> Magnus and Argus by Carly Vickers>>> Septicozium by Sarah Spackman>>> The Hoarder by Sarah Spackman>>> Timothy by Harriet Watts>>> Left: Parkered by Sarah Spackman, Zabuton by Lauren Austin (cushion) and Right: Nobu by Lauren Austin>>> Wassily Stools by Ben Elbourne

Milkskin

Designed by Harriet Watts

Made by hand in Sydney in porcelain with glazed interior

Not currently available for sale

Milkskin is a porcelain vessel or vase with a patterned interior. The object creates a visual intrigue when handled with its interior concealing its interior printed patterns – three illustrated patterns abstractly reflect Australian landscape and flora.

Milkskin is a conceptual work informed by Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection. When broken, the object tries to retain value by revealing it’s interior pattern.

Milkskin was produced as part of the original &Company range.

Image 1 © Nick De Lorenzo
Images 2/3 © Andy Lewis

The project explores how we choose to use and activate public space in our cities by participating in International PARK(ing) Day 2010, and ‘parking’ a pop-up installation across the Sydney CBD during a busy mid-week peak time. PARK(ing) day, an annual worldwide event where metered parking spaces are transformed into temporary public spaces, enables precious urban real estate to be leased on a short-term basis simply by paying the meter.

The team was invited to present the project at Gaffa Gallery following the pop-up installation across the city.

Park / Park was also selected for inclusion in the exhibition ‘DIY Urbanism: The Right to the City’, Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney, in April 2011.

The project was reviewed by Australian Design Review.

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