INNATE, the acclaimed collaboration between Adelaide-based furniture designer Jon Goulder, and Sydney design retailer Fiona Lyda, is a collection of Australian furniture with an inherent design language – spare, lean and elegant – embracing a sense of refinement through the use of materials with a unique Australian sensibility.

Launching as part of Futures Collective at Villa Alba for Melbourne Design Week, Innate’s second body of work extends the collection to more spaces within the Australian home. On show will be the existing console, coffee and side tables, and newer additions Desk, Dining and Bedside Tables.  Rendered in laser cut metals, Adelaide black granite, and Australian hardwood timbers with uncommon finishes, the collection has an innate Australian sensuality. A mood enhanced by Jon and Fiona’s common and intuitive desire to allow the materials to remain in their natural and simplest states, constructed and formed with an honest and inventive design aesthetic.

Composing dark finishes of black leather, black powdercoated aluminium, punctuations of brass, finely honed dark stone, and Tasmanian oak and blackwood that acquire their own moody tones through the process of ‘pickling’ – an application of vinegar darkened by steeped steel wool. The tannins in each native timber react differently to contrast deep blacks with softer smoky taupes.

Innate 2.0 extends the works of these two prominent design minds with different perspectives and sensibilities, whose ideas merge into a collection of furniture with a refined Australian aesthetic.

This exhibition is part of FUTURES COLLECTIVE exhibition at the Villa Alba Museum. Access is free during opening hours. 

Saturday Meet the Designers ticketed tours and Futures Collective After Hours require advanced booking. Both offer a rare not-to-be-missed opportunity to meet with Jon Goulder and Fiona Lyda in person. Space at these ticketed events are sure to fill quickly. Availability strictly limited.