Ryan Hanrahan and Bianca Riggio of Page Thirty Three.

Page Thirty Three are a design duo that produce sleek, minimal home accessories. Formed in 2010 by local lovebirds, Ryan Hanrahan and Bianca Riggio, these Sydney-based creatives have been busy putting their stylish stamp on oil burners, bath brews, lightboxes and more. To mark their first event with Temple & Webster, we stole a few minutes with Bianca...  



How did Page Thirty Three come to be?

Page Thirty Three basically came about on our first date. We are both one part creative, one part entrepreneurial, so we could shoot the breeze endlessly about creative business ideas – this one just seemed to have enough steam behind it. Diving head first into our own creative business also seemed like a good way to have true creative control. It is also spawned from the need to have a curated lifestyle. Creating your own business is how we created our own little reality, where we can create the culture and set the tone – Ryan can go for a surf whenever we wants. We also just really wanted to hang out together all day.

What are your respective backgrounds?

Ryan has a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and worked for some time as a graphic artist and illustrator in surf/street fashion. He is also a bit of a whiz with maths and an inherent problem solver, so these skills and natural inclinations eventually led him to object design. I also studied Fine Arts, and did a lot of photography and screen printing which led me to Graphic Design, Art Direction and then object design. We both still practice illustrative work and Art Direction respectively. 



Can you tell us about the role and significance of ritual?

Big question. Ritual to us is everything. It is the manner in which you conduct yourself and construct your surroundings to enable you to work, live, love and relax with ease. This may sound like a lofty concept, but essentially it is just forced intention. For example, just the act of using an Oil Burner – you have to assemble it, choose a place for it, choose the smell you would like to surround yourself with, light the candle and fill it with water – these simple acts give us a window of opportunity to reconnect with ourselves at that point. So much of what we do is autopilot and it is through these tangible practices that we get jilted back into our own body. Ritual is about the practice of living – in a tangible sense. Some objects help facilitate this reconnection.



Do you have a favourite piece? Why?

Some of our favourites are yet to come, we have a lot in the pipe-line at the moment. I loved the Tactile Equations collection that we did last year in which we used a lot of blue stone. The product I interact most with is probably Bath Brew. Bath time is my little reward to myself so I always enjoying using it.

We love that your pieces are designed and made in Australia. Why is this so important to you?

There are many reasons, but the main reason is that we need to be comfortable and have faith in the environment in which our products are made, as well as reducing our carbon footprint by the goods not having to travel so far. I would love to do 100% Australian made but unfortunately there is a lot we don’t do in Australia... or the costing can be super high.



Environmental awareness is becoming increasingly important to our consumers. How does this manifest for Page Thirty Three?

My perception on this subject changes. I actually feel like globally we are moving forward to a more environmentally conscious worldview (albeit slowly), but locally this trend seems to wax and wane. I am not sure that the connection between small products and environmental consciousness is made that distinctly. For example when someone is buying a dinning table they might be acutely aware of where the wood is from, how it is finished, and where it is made, but on small to medium product consumers can be more driven by price or trends and overlook environmental factors.

What does good design mean to you?

I don’t come from a design-design background, but I do like design concepts that push at the edges of our perception – I like it when an object has a certain ‘uh-huh’ moment. Aesthetically I like a lot of different things; I like some things that are super minimal and others that are flamboyant. I usually choose to live with design that is subdued in colour – I default to black.



You guys have a really strong, minimalistic style. What do your homes look like?

I wish I could lie here. Our home at the moment has some cool artwork and lots of books, but it is pretty simple. We, like most people we know, are struggling to buy our own house in Sydney at present so it is hard to over invest into a rented space. Our studio on the other-hand (where we spend most of our time) is filled with samples we are constructing, interesting materials we have found, art and also lots of books.

For more, shop Page Thirty Three here, visit their website, or follow them on Instagram @pagethirtythree.