An Enduring Appeal – Furniture by Australian Maker George Harper of TIDE Design

Everyone knows the strong links between Japan and Australia, so I’ve always had a close eye on Australian design and what the designers of this country have been producing. It’s interesting to think about the Australian culture and the Japanese culture being so different, but I suppose one of the connections is nature. Both Japan and Australia are so close to nature and use it as a key source of inspiration, so when I came across TIDE furniture studio based in Melbourne it made obvious sense to document them here.

TIDE designs and produces handmade furniture with the goal of making work that can stand the test of time. Founded in 2007 by George Harper, after leaving his office job and starting his studies in Furniture Design he was spending his weekends and evenings in a small shed developing ideas and making woodworks by hand. TIDE soon followed and has both a workshop and showroom in Victoria where he employs and works with other furniture makers to make pieces of design that are inspired by simplicity and functionality.

Speaking about the link with Japanese design above, I was interested to see some of the names of these designs come from the Japanese language and have inspired George. Although these works have a cutting simplicity about them, at the same time you can see the uniqueness in the style thanks to the handmade features. I picked out a small selection from his website here, but I highly reccomend exploring more on the TIDE website. There is a ton of inspiration for any young designer or creative.

tidedesign.com.au

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