Interview | Rina Bernabei & Kelly Freeman {bernabeifreeman}.

Cloth table with perforated aluminium tray top which can have a reverses orientation on frame to work as a tray or table top. Suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Extreme love.

Gold ‘Lace’ light, perforated aluminium.

Left – Totem Lighting was the winner of the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award in 2007. The shape and pattern is inspired by cut crystal and domestic heirlooms. Right – Fragment Light, perforated and powdercoated aluminium.

Rina Bernabei and Kelly Freeman.

Sydney based industrial designers Rina Bernabei and Kelly Freeman have been working together since 2000. I remember the time when they first burst onto the design scene with their now-iconic ‘Peony’ chandelier back in 2003, which was created for the Establishment Hotel for Sydney Design where it still hangs today (well, at least it did the last time I checked). Peony went on to win a string of awards and it became a part of the permanent collection at the Powerhouse Museum. This was just the beginning for the creative duo who have since then developed a range of beautiful furniture and lighting pieces using perforated metal and lace-like patterns.

In late 2008, bernabeifreeman created a range of stunning hand knotted rugs for Designer Rugs, two of which are being customised for one of the projects I’m working on at the moment. (Oh yeah, the rugs are going to rock, I can tell you that for free!) Their homewards range was launched in April last year which included cushions, tea towels, drinks trays, fabric and perforated metal lighting designs.

Rina and Kelly developed their signature style from the very beginning which is unashamedly decorative, feminine, refined and highly detailed, but never too pretty or girly. Their pieces combine “brutal technical precision and delicate sensuality rolled into one”. bernabeifreeman has received several national awards and their work has been exhibited both locally and internationally, including Zona Tortona in Milan and at the Milan Triennale.

Thank you Rina and Kelly for being a part of yellowtrace – it is a privilege to be able to share the work of such accomplished Australian designers who have made a significant contribution to our design scene. I should also mention that Kelly recently had a baby, so I am all the more grateful for her time. You can also check out their blog for updates and inside information on what they do.

x dana

Seams Lights, available in three shapes as shown – perforated and folded aluminium, in gloss powdercoated finish. Available from ISM.

Sketches for Seams Lights.

Totem light, an eclectic jewel-like collection of forms which hang individually or in groups to create lighting installations. Winner of 2007 Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award, and exhibited at the Salone del Mobile, Milan 2008.

Hello Rina & Kelly, welcome to yellowtrace and thank you for taking the time to e-chat. When did you first decide to start bernabeifreeman? Do you remember your first project?

We started in 2002. We had worked together previously on other projects, and always thought we would work together further. In 2002 we were approached to put an installation into The Establishment Hotel as part of design week. This was the catalyst for our first design collaboration. The Peony chandelier we produced for this project, it brought about much press and interest in our work and led us to forming bernabeifreeman.

What you are seeking to portray in your work? What is fundamental to your practice – your philosophy and your process?

Probably like all designers it is some form of idealized beauty. Ours is a beauty in decoration, and in digital manufacturing. We try to capture a memory or emotion of decorative surfaces and textures from our domestic past, and we use modern manufacturing methods to further this language and to make it accessible to people through products. We believe that as designers we are story-tellers and our products embed stories that people connect with.

Cushions, side tables and lamp all from bernabeifreeman homeware range launched in April 2009. Fantastic colours and patterns.

Fragment tray & fabric lamp shades from the homeware range.

What are some of your main sources of inspiration? Are there any specific references you are drawn to regularly – travel, books, websites/ blogs etc?

Decorative interiors of the past, think William Morris, and at another extreme, Charles and Ray Eames. Materials and methods such as lace, needlework, and basketry. Also after a recent trip together to Tokyo, we were very inspired by the geometrical patterns in modern and ancient Japan, such as shibori fabric, bamboo fencing and industrial steel meshes.

Who or what are some of your influences? What other artists, peers and creatives in general do you admire?

There are many from many disciplines. In product design, we feel an affinity or parallel of thinking with female designers such as Patricia Urquiola, or Hella Jongerius. There are also several indigenous artists whose work we love suck as Walangkura Napanangka and Eubena Nampitjin. We also greatly admire many craftspeople from our indigenous basket weavers to forgotten lace makers. As well as skilled factory workers who can bring our ideas to life.

What advice do you have for young designers wanting to start their own business? What was one of your biggest lessons learned in setting up your practice?

That the only difference between them and us is hard work over a sustained time (and a bit of money doesn’t hurt).

Perforated aluminium “Lace” screen.

Left – Poeny chandelier at Establishment Hotel which marked the beginning of bernabeifreeman’s successful partnership. Right – Poeny floor light.

What has been your proudest career achievement?

Still being excited to work together after all these years… the awards along the way helped to reassure us that you could do your own thing and make people happy with beautiful design and the establishment will notice.

Is there something professionally you would like to try that you haven’t done yet?

Many many things. There are so many materials we would love to work with and so many design projects to do. We have always wanted to use ceramics and glass, as well as doing a complex digital lighting project. We have also wanted to design a complete room, everything from the wall covering to the furniture.

bernabeifreeman Designer Rug collection consists of 6 beautiful rugs. Shown here clockwise from top left – Bias, Folk, Brodie and Lace Like.

What are you working on at the moment?

We are working with the idea of creating a product design story… A design in which the end user is involved in its creation, so that the story of the products creation becomes embedded within the design.

What’s next – can you share with us your vision and some of your goals?

To design for a diverse range Australian companies, or international ones. We want to continue to learn as much as possible about manufacture, and then work with manufacturers to push processes further. We want to explore the future of lighting. Mostly however, we will continue to explore the idea of product design as story-telling, and the relationship people have with the products they surround themselves with.

Last year Rina and Kelly were featured as INDESIGN Luminaries in a 6 page article which gave a rundown on bernabeifreeman’s history, philosophy and future direction.

Let’s Get Personal:

What are the qualities you most like about yourselves?

R: Optimistic, and passionate.

K: Organized and creative, and ability to laugh during disasters (we both have this).

What are the qualities you most like in others?

R: Passion, honesty and individuality.

K: Reliability, humour and confidence.

Totem Pods – casual seating or as occasional tables, UV resistant polyethylene (100% recyclable), suitable for outdoor use.

Sketches for Totem Pods.

Apart from your work, what other interests or hobbies do you have?

R: Sewing, gardening and cooking (sounds a bit like a grandma).

K: Food, swimming in the ocean, travel, reading.

What are some of your favorite local galleries and shops {music, fashion, books, accessories, furniture vintage, other bits and pieces}?

R: Tessuti Fabrics, Kate Owen gallery.

K: Norman+Quaine studio, Ariel (books), Published Art.

Brodie table – Perforated, folded aluminium indoor/ outdoor table.

Rina & Kelly’s pinboard. Love. In fact I could proably write an entier blog post on how much I love pinboards. Don’t you guys get me started!

Your favourite cafes/ restaurants/ bars?

R: Dank St café, Sean’s Panorama, Norton St markets, Orange Grove markets, AC Butchers.

K: North Bondi Italian, Bourke St Bakery, Harry’s cafe.

What is your most treasured belonging?

R: A rose gold ring a student made, which I received after my second daughter was born.

K: My grandma’s amber necklace and my Peony Floor light (there are only 3 in existence).

Exchange hotel in Balmain, Sydney. Interiors by CYD.

It’s not very cool, but I really like…

R: Babushka dolls, knitting and crochet and wearing clothes that I have made that are always just a bit wrong.

K: Wearing tracksuit pants.

Your favourite joke?

R: ”What do you call a deer with no eyes” …..no idea!

K: I don’t know any!!

How would you like to be remembered?

R: As a passionate person who dedicated much of life to sharing the beauty of design.

K: As a product designer who created beautiful and accessible designs that people connected with.

Tokyo perforated wall and ceiling lights were launched at ISM (Tait Showroom) at Saturday in Design held in Melbourne last weekend.

Waterbar at Woolloomooloo, Sydney featured black powdercoated lace screens.