![Adam Goodrum's new collection for NAU can be seen at Denfair.](/content/dam/images/g/w/i/4/8/b/image.related.afrWideArticleLead.940x529.gwi440.png/1496711079733.jpg)
The words "trade fair" strike fear into my heart, bringing to mind images of endless, anonymous hangars on the outskirts of otherwise interesting cities. Melbourne's Denfair, which opens to trade on June 9 and to the public on June 10, is a more heartening affair – mainly because its offering of home-grown designs is a sure sign of an industry on the rise.
In its third year, the space at the Denton Corker Marshall-designed Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre allocated to designer and brand stands has tripled, from 4500 square metres the first year to 12,000 now, with the number of exhibitors this year almost 90. Add to that five stylishly designed eateries and a Bang & Olufsen sound lounge designed by Sydney's Adam Goodrum, and a weekend visit to Jeff's Shed, as the centre is known, has never looked so good.
"The idea behind Denfair was simply to give Australia a platform to promote original design without compromise," says Thibaud Cau-Cecile, who along with Claudio Oyarce helms Unwritten Shows, the organising body behind the fair.
"In the past most design exhibitions have been done by very large corporations, with very strict formulas and guidelines they apply to many different industry sectors. We come from a creative background, and our team is composed of designers. We don't have set rules, grids, floorplans. Our goal is to create an immersive experience of Australian design for the trade but also for the public."
![Charles Wilson has wrapped King Living's trademark steel sled base frame in plush limited-edition upholstery, the deep ...](/content/dam/images/g/w/i/4/8/h/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1496707080349.jpg)
Accessible exclusively to trade on Thursday and Friday, the fair opens to the public on Saturday.
"The public day is where we take on an advocacy role for original Australian design,' says Oyarce. "In a way, it's about educating the broader public to the rising pool of local talent."
Cau-Cecile says this is especially important given that Australia is the least regulated international market in terms of design copy. "Consumers often don't know that 'replica' means fake, and that to purchase a piece of fake furniture is to deny living designers their livelihood," he says. Here are five of the best:
1. Charles Wilson for King Living
Wilson's work is poised, mature, beyond the fickleness of trend. His training in industrial design at Sydney's University of Technology is evident in his new Zaza sofa for King Living, which displays all the rigour and beauty of fine design keyed up for mass production. Wilson has wrapped King's trademark steel sled base frame in plush limited-edition upholstery, the deep cushions of the backrest and adjustable arms accentuated by pinched, double-edge stitching.
![Adam Goodrum is the It boy of Australian design right now and is working across a variety of brands.](/content/dam/images/g/w/i/4/8/s/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1496705140623.jpg)
"I wanted to create an organic design with a more relaxed feel, but with comfort and versatility, true to the King Living design ethos." Wilson explains.
A future classic.
2. Adam Goodrum for Tait, NAU and American Hardwood
Goodrum is the It boy of Australian design right now, clocking up a plethora of prizes and working across a variety of brands to deliver his just left-field interior fittings. For outdoor furniture specialists, Tait, he has developed the Trace range of terrace seating based around a stainless steel nautical mesh encasing sumptuous cushions in hard-wearing fabrics. Matching low tables and a nifty drinks trolley complete the offering.
![Henry WIlson is showcasing a collection of Cast Impressions, sand-cast brass standard lamps and wall-mounted sconces at ...](/content/dam/images/g/w/i/4/8/p/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1496705140751.jpg)
For NAU, a new brand under the Cult umbrella, he has elaborated on the slouchy timber Bilgola chair he unveiled at the Milan Furniture Fair in April, adding a three-seater daybed, coffee table and dining chair to the mix, available in American oak, ash or walnut.
A limited edition of the Bilgola chair in lush cherry and tulip wood has been developed in collaboration with the American Hardwood Export Council, upholstered in new release Maharam fabrics.
"It's great being commissioned to design for a variety of brands," says Goodrum. "I'm mindful not to repeat for one brand what I have proposed for another, but all my designs carry my DNA."
3. Oliver Wilcox for Lost Profile
![Emma Aiston and Daniel To have made a name for themselves with their fresh, slightly quirky furniture and desk objects.](/content/dam/images/g/w/i/7/y/l/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1496705140476.jpg)
Debuting at Denfair, Melbourne lighting designer Oliver Wilcox will unveil a series of assertive brass light fittings with names such as Surveillance, Colossal and Surgeon. Monumental, sculptural, there's nothing consensual or polite about the probing cylinders, skeletal rods and multi-lensed examination lamps. They're designed to be a focal point of any room they inhabit.
To emphasise his slightly aggressive aesthetic, Wilcox's stand is inspired, he says, "by bombed-out concrete bunkers post World War II. I want to highlight the brutalist, industrial, art deco influences of my work."
Wilcox's partner, decorative artist Simon Leah, added 12 metres of stylised copper ivy in verdigris hues from dusty sage through brilliant turquoise. "After the fair they'll be absorbed into two small mirrors," says Leah.
4. Henry Wilson for Studio Henry Wilson
![Daniel - Emma create colourful, playful, slightly Memphis-style tables, chairs and accessories such as the Soft Chair.](/content/dam/images/g/w/i/4/9/3/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1496705140802.jpg)
Henry Wilson is not the kind of designer to propose more "stuff". The Sydney-based graduate of the influential Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands prefers to slowly evolve a suite of simple ideas to the point where they offer a complex matrix of choice.
On his own-brand stand for the first time this year, he is showcasing a collection of Cast Impressions, sand-cast brass standard lamps and wall-mounted sconces that deftly update a 6000-year-old technique.
Looking to the future of design distribution, Wilson will also be launching a new website dedicated entirely to his trademark A-Joint table and work surface system. Made from aluminium or bronze, the various A-Joints enable end users to configure their furnishings to their needs.
The new online system allows for total customisation and, most importantly, short-term delivery in major cities including New York, Los Angeles and London.
"We use geo-tagging to localise orders and I am working with a group of suppliers to provide the material locally," Wilson explains. "I've become a start-up entrepreneur, which was a bit unexpected, but it's exciting to think we can supply the northern hemisphere while being based in Australia."
You can find the customisable A-Joint system at ajoints.com.
5. Daniel To and Emma Aiston for Daniel – Emma
To and Aiston, of Adelaide, have made a name for themselves with their fresh, slightly quirky furniture and desk objects, collaborating with the giant Swedish clothing brand COS, Copenhagen brand HAY and Melbourne's own Tait.
For their own brand, they create colourful, playful, slightly Memphis-style tables, chairs and accessories, including the graphically compelling Soft chair, which they are unveiling in a range of new colours.
"We are excited as this our first ever trade show on home soil and we see it as an excellent opportunity to meet people we have been in contact with over the years but are yet to put a face to a name." says To.
DENFAIR DETAILS
- Open to trade June 9, 10am to 6pm
- Open to the public June 10, 10am to 5pm
- Where Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, 1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf
AFR Contributor