I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Wednesday November 5th — —

“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Wednesday November 5th — —

The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Wednesday November 5th — —

Barbera Design

Inspirational Melbourne-based Barbera Design was established by Australian designer Daniel Barbera in 2004, to create Australian-made furniture. High quality, unique, but above all timeless products, primarily aimed at Oceania and South-East Asia. Since the inception of his studio, Daniel and his team have been working with world class leading architects, specifying batch production products from their range, while also being able to offer custom solutions with existing products or bespoke pieces. Barbera’s product ethos works around logical design outcomes, and is process orientated working with old industrial processes fused with modern technology and craftsmen, to deliver elegant quality furniture which we really like.

In an interesting conversation with Yellow Trace the designer states on his favorite part of the process of designing:

Solving of the problem. It goes back to when I was a kid and had to figure out how to climb a tree. Figuring it out wasn’t too hard or that mind blowing but the act of climbing was the most exhilarating feeling a kid could probably have.

We like the whole collection of Barbera, but we are great fans of the beautiful MOD shelving units, which is a reinterpretation of early industrial shelving units. Constructed from square steel tubing, and sheet-metal, MOD utilizes a lightweight frame, to suspend thin shelves. Designed to be a scluptural form, if empty, or allow the objects to be the hero. The incredible concept comes in three standard sizes, all the same width and depth, but different height. There is even the option of verticle dividers that can be used to rest books on, or play as a sculptural element. So good!

Barbera Design is not limited to a singular material or process, but rather likes to work with materials and processes that suit the product and production volumes. Having worked in the past with wire, moulded plastics, solid timber, leather, and recently cast bronze, the studio likes to work with natural unprocessed materials, which is naturally kind to humankind and its environment. Since 2004, Barbera has exhibited at Launch Pad, Vivid, the Edge, Ready Made Market, Fringe furniture, My name is House, Under Capricorn, Pop Ups, and Saturday Indesign. In 2004 Barbera exhibited ‘Crooked Shady’ at Fringe, and won the lighting award. Daniel also participated in the 2008 Design Festival, at EatGreenDesign, part of Before&After, but most recently exhibited a new solid timber range at the 2009 Design Made Trade, part of the Melbourne Design Festival, and launched his amazing ‘Bronze’ table.

I have no hobbies really, my life is my hobby. All the usual hedonistic cultural aspects of life, food, music, film, although they often seem to bring me back to furniture.

For more information see here.