Kollapsible based on rectangles by Grace Tan/Kwodrent.com

July 29, 2008. From July 16 – 24, Melbourne and Victoria’s State of Design Festival hosted 45 design-related satellite events under the rubric Design for Everyone, a curated, cultural program the theme of which (entitled Design is a Verb) was to explore the process behind design. Curated by Fleur Watson the events encompassed all design fields and included free exhibitions, public lectures, interactive experiences, installations and performances. The most interesting shows included a temporary restaurant that showcased sustainable design called Eat, Green, Design; the popular designer networking and slideshow evening called Pecha Kucha, Design Capital, the country’s first multidisciplinary design and business conference and Design:Made:Trade, a wholesale showcase for emerging design. Winners of the biennial Premier’s Design Awards, honoring designers in Victoria, were also announced and included architectural firm McBride Charles Ryan for its Melbourne Monaco House, fashion designers MaterialByProduct for their sustainable work called Template and Studio Sam’s handmade shelf-cum-partition, Bookscreen. Such a confluence of strong design might merit an Australian holiday for design nerds come this time next year.
stateofdesign.com.au/designforeveryone, stateofdesign.com.au/premiersdesignawards


McBride Charles Ryan's Monaco House in Melbourne


Simone LaAmon's candleholders for Bombay Sapphire