The Beeline Design Cuba range, new to Temple & Webster.
Styling – Jonathan Fleming & Allira Bell. Photography – Denise Braki.

We’re excited to welcome Melbourne-based furniture business Beeline Design to Temple & Webster today. Here we chat with owners Adam Brislin and Lucy Grant about their inspiration, creative process and latest Cuba range.

How long have you been in furniture design, and when did you launch Beeline?
Adam is a trained cabinetmaker with almost 20 years’ experience in fine furniture, and my background is in clothing design. We met in London and decided to take the plunge and work for ourselves when we returned to Australia. We've been running Beeline Design since 2010 .

What’s the most rewarding aspect of running your own business?
Watching it grow from the back shed of our home where we started out! We both worked full-time jobs in the first few years in the business, so a lot of nights and weekends were sacrificed in the pursuit of success.

Adam Brislin & Lucy Grant of Melbourne's Beeline Design.

The most challenging part?
With two young children, the work is still usually done late into the night. It’s also difficult being a couple in business, to avoid letting it consume you. We have to be conscious of making time to switch off from work and spend time together as a family.

How would you describe your design ethos?
Classic shapes with a modern edge. While working predominantly with timber, each of our ranges also features a secondary material that forms the theme to each collection. With Calypso range it was copper and brass, and now with Cuba it is leather. Our design process is very collaborative – Adam brings his technical knowledge and I draw on my background in commercial design. Adam has a love of detail that complements my pared-back style.

What or who inspires you?
We draw a lot of inspiration from Mid-Century shapes and Bauhaus design. Adam has a huge collection of vintage woodworking magazines and is constantly referring back to them, searching out a unique leg shape or an interesting joinery technique.

The Beeline Design Cuba and Calypso stools, new to Temple & Webster.
Styling – Jonathan Fleming & Allira Bell. Photography – Denise Braki.

Tell us a little more about the leatherwork in your latest Cuba range?
We had always loved the look of woven leather in seating and wanted to incorporate it into other pieces. We love to challenge ourselves and have definitely gained a whole new skill set working with leather.

What's your favourite piece in the range?
It would have to be the Mirror Ladder Rack, there is so much detail in it. The mirror is steam-bent, which is a very old woodworking technique, and we are lucky to work with a craftsman who practices this technique in our cooperative. Also the ‘rudder lashing’ technique borrowed from boat-building, which hinges the ladders together. It’s versatile, too – you can use it in an entryway, as a towel rack in the bathroom, or joined together as a room divider.

Favourite piece of furniture in your own home?
It would have to be our bed, which Adam made in our shed in the early days from some rough old timber that someone had discarded in the laneway behind our house. Its beauty and quality is a real testament to his skills as a craftsman.



Where to next for Beeline?
We’re well known for our stools, but in 2017 we’ll bring the focus back to where we started with tables. We’ re already starting to form the ideas that will make up our next collection – just need to get through our Christmas orders first!

Shop the Beeline Design Collection at Temple & Webster here.