Verity Magdalino interviews designer Matt Prince, our seventh nominee for the Temple and Webster / Inside Out magazine Emerging Designer Award. Read Lee Tran Lam's interview with Matt over on Inside Out's blog, Homelife.

Who? Matt Prince is a talented designer-maker based in Launceston, Tasmania where he creates and produces beautifully crafted contemporary furniture under the name of his design consultancy, Matt Prince Design.

Why we love him: His honest and thoughtful approach. Matt has a genuine love and pride in his home of Tasmania and its unique natural resources, which he aims to showcase in his work via progressive and intelligently informed design. And he builds boats in his spare time. A true craftsman.



How would you describe your design philosophy and aesthetic?
My aesthetic is minimal and honest. Being based in Tasmania I have to think about how my furniture can be sent interstate and overseas so expressing how it goes together and how it comes apart is important. It's important for me that people understand how furniture works, and how it goes together.

Where did your love for design come from?
For as long as I can remember I made everything. The best thing to happen to me was being taught how to build remote control aeroplanes when I was a very young. It gave me an invaluable education on how to put things together and make things accurately.

When I was 19 I travelled to the UK and worked as a traditional wooden boat builder in the north of England. It was a great experience. I still do a bit of sailing and am currently building a boat.

I chose to study furniture design because I like the idea of making something on a human scale. While studying I was made aware of the importance of design in everything we experience. That was when design took over.



What inspired you to create your most recent piece, the FIT shelves (above)?
I was interested in storage and conducted some very basic market research, asking people what they would want most in a shelving system. The majority wanted something they could personalise and adapt to suit a specific space or application. So modularity and flexibility became the focus.

I really enjoy resolving connections in my furniture where one element might intersect and join with another. It's also about expressing the detailing in my work. The shelves are an expression of the horizontal metal elements against the vertical timber, the fixings and how they connect.

Having the ability to break the shelves down into parts was also important to allow it to be easily shipped, and I wanted to create something that could be manufactured efficiently. It was a fun product to develop because it really does meet the needs and desires of the end user, which is what I set out to do.



Do you have a favourite design from your portfolio?
A collaboration to produce a collection of contemporary furniture for One / Third, a Tasmanian company. The workshop was initiated by designer Alexander Lotersztain and I was invited along with designers Adam Goodrum from NSW, Jon Goulder from WA and Helen Kontouris from VIC. It was so exciting for me as I'd looked up to these designers as a student and to find myself sitting around a table developing a collection with them was amazing.

What are you looking at now for inspiration?
I love the work of Australian designers like Alexander Lotersztain and Ross Gardam and internationally, the Bourellec brothers and Benjamin Hubert who is becoming one of the super stars of product design. But people are the most significant form of inspiration for me, in particular what they find useful and valuable.



What are you currently working on?
I'm planning to launch my own brand of furniture and homewares next year. There's a wonderful scene in Tasmania at the moment to do with all things creative, which comes off the back of the development of MONA. There's so much talent and so many wonderful manufacturers based in Tasmania and I'd like to try and showcase that as much as possible.

In terms of materials and processes what are you investigating at the moment?
I always come back to timber. It's such an inviting material. Tasmania has some of the most unique timbers in the world such as Myrtle, Blackwood and Huon Pine. There's a good opportunity to showcase these materials in a progressive way. I'm very proud of Tasmania. There's a lot here to offer.

What's your proudest career achievement so far?
Being involved with the One / Third project and collaborating with Alexander Lotersztain on his Derlot Editions range. Being chosen as the first Australian designer to feature in this collection was wonderful.



What would be your dream project?
There's a proposal to build a big hotel tower in the north of Hobart and I'd love it be full of my furniture made from materials that are specific to Tasmania.

What's your favourite word of advice?
Ray and Charles Eames said, "Make design your life and life your design." I think that applies to everyone. Everyone's a designer and a stylist in their own way.

Images courtesy of Matt Prince. Photography by Florian Groehn. To see more of Matt's work, go to www.mattprincedesign.com

We're profiling local up-and-coming talent all summer, along with Inside Out magazine's blog, Homelife. After you've met each of the designers and seen their work, you'll have a chance to vote for your favourite. Your votes will narrow the choice down to three finalists, then our expert panel, including Temple & Webster Editorial Director Karen McCartney, Inside Out Editor Claire Bradley and Louise Olsen, co-founder and designer at Dinosaur Designs, will choose the winner of our Emerging Designer Award just in time for Australia Day. The winner will receive $5000 from Temple & Webster, and will also be featured in Inside Out magazine and across the home & interiors media. So far we've featured Tamara Maynes, Kate Stokes, Tate Anson, Chris Hardy, Surya Graf and Daniel Emma.