Melbourne Designer & Furniture Maker Josh Carmody

Josh Carmody is a bit of a quiet all-star of the Australian design world. When we first met him in 2010—our first interview ever!—he was a young designer on the rise, and now, over ten years on, he is anything but emerging. His Melbourne studio, which specialises in high-end bespoke furniture and made-to-measure tables, has had a meteoric rise that sees him working across private and public spaces with ease.

And while it may look effortless, the designer went out on a limb to get to where he is today. The young talent began his career at Woods Bagot with a Masters of Architecture from the University of Melbourne under his belt, while taking on one or two furniture commissions a year. Fast forward to Woods Bagot, who knew a good thing when they saw it, so they got Josh to design their studio tables… And the rest is history.

Now the real deal, his boutique studio is built on the principle that Josh is the designer and maker. The hands-on ethos ensures that his products are easily customised and made to measure in-house. Ultimately, he aims to make the job of interior designers easier.

“There is often a need for bespoke or made-to-measure products,” he says. “Instead of designers filtering hundreds of tables based on available sizes and colours to meet requirements, clients often come directly to me, with a product of mine, and they spec the size, timber, colour, and finish. Given I am set up for bespoke work, customisation is easily accommodated and generally does not impact on lead time.”

Bespoke tables by Josh Carmody for Seek HQ, designed by Hassell. Photo by Haydn Cattach.

In the studio’s latest project, Hassell commissioned a series of tables for Seek HQ. Here, Josh showcases his capacity for design and production of large scale bespoke projects, balancing traditional joinery methods with the commercial realities.

Having spent his early career working on large scale commercial architecture by day—while making high-end bespoke furniture pieces through his own design studio by night—Josh’s design sensibility is underpinned by his experience shifting between scales and mediums on a daily basis. His considered approach is informed by his broad design experience, incorporating the perspective of the designer, the craftsperson, the manufacturer as well as the end-user.

With career highlights that include a collaboration with Patricia Urquiola on a product line for Haworth, and a 2017 debut at Milan Design Week (which we covered here), there’s plenty to celebrate. Josh has found himself with a global reach, all from his humble workbench in Melbourne.

The design maverick shares his process, ambitions and inspirations below—take it away, Josh!

This Yellowtrace Promotion is supported by Josh Carmody. Like everything we do, our partner content is carefully curated to maintain the utmost relevance to our audience. Thank you for supporting the brands and the people who support Yellowtrace.

Bespoke tables by Josh Carmody for Seek HQ, designed by Hassell. Photo by Haydn Cattach.

Photo by Haydn Cattach.

Welcome back to Yellowtrace, Josh! Could you catch our audience up on what you’ve been up to since we last chatted some 10 years ago?

It’s been a busy decade. At the time of publication of our previous discussion back in 2010, I had just moved out of home to study interstate.

A bit has gone down since then. In short, I finished my Master of Architecture at the University of Melbourne. While doing so, I continued working on my furniture design business and also worked at Russell & George.

After graduation, I commenced work at Woods Bagot, where I eventually completed my architect registration – while still continuing to design and make my own small furniture projects on the side.

While I was still at Woods Bagot, they engaged me/my small design business to design and make all the tables for their new studio.

This set me on a new trajectory and within the year, I was being specified in large projects, and had won an international design competition which saw me collaborate on a collection with Patricia Urquiola in her studio in Milan.

And soon after I resigned from my job as an architect and to give my design business full-time attention for a change.

Nowadays I have my own studio/workshop and I design and make furniture.

Josh in the workshop. Photo by Amy Carmody.

Proud dad with his apprentice — aka Josh’s son, in the workshop. Photo by Amy Carmody.

How do you characterise your design sensibility and your aesthetic?

My design sensibilities and values have become inherent in my work to a point where I almost don’t think of them.

I like authenticity. And for me, this begins with original ideas and requires the use of real materials and quality production methods.

I tend to balance these aforementioned points with the forms and functions desired in my mind’s eye and in the brief if there is one.

Is there something that’s fundamental to your practice — your philosophy and your process?

Being hands-on with the design, prototyping and production is a common thread throughout my work and is fundamental to my business.

I like to keep everything in-house wherever possible.

Still being involved in the day-to-day making of each piece of furniture provides me with a nice level of certainty around execution and production timelines. And keeps me doing the work I like doing instead of the admin.

This hands-on role I have within my business was vital during the recent two years of lockdowns, restrictions, and all the associated shipping mayhem. If I could get materials (and I could) then I could hit deadlines.

Beyond this practicality of keeping work in-house, I also find that my inspiration for new concepts is actually triggered while making other products and pieces of furniture.

Bespoke tables by Josh Carmody Studio for Tarrawarra Museum, designed by Fiona Lynch. Photo by Sharyn Cairns.

Photo by Sharyn Cairns.

How do you go about establishing a concept and an overall direction for your pieces?

The start point varies. If it is a self-initiated project like the original Legless Stool or the Remnants Series, I will just leave it in my head and let it develop until I decide it’s ready to draw. Then I sketch it repeatedly until I put it into CAD and begin prototyping.

If the project is for a client, I usually have a brief list of requirements to meet. These projects take priority over the self-initiated projects and usually advance through the design process much quicker due to the client-driven timelines.

Do you have a certain process that you always follow?

Beyond this starting point, my design process remains consistent and usually follows the ‘sketch, design development, shop drawing, production’ order that most designers are probably familiar with – although in production I tend to use a live CAD file that I update and/or refer to as I go. I find it easier for some reason.

Beyond that perhaps what is unique to my studio, is that even as my business grows, I am still involved from sketch through to production. I do it all. And get help where and when I need it.

If I need I outsource components like brass or steel work out to the respective specialists in my network – I am still the one collecting, inspecting, and assembling these products. And installing them too.

Remnants series side table by Josh Carmody, available to order through the studio’s online shop. Photo by Andrew Walsh.

The all-important leg detail of the Remnants series, debuted in Milan in 2017. Photo by Andrew Walsh.

How important is the ability to balance the design and business in today’s market? How much time do you spend on each side of your practice?

It’s vital. But for me, the scale is usually tipped in the direction of designing and making rather than the business admin.

Design and production are the first priority in my business. Admin, business development and social media constantly fight for second, third and fourth place.

I was always of the mind that if I design and make everything to the best of my ability; then my work would cut through and catch the eye of the right people through digital, print and social media. And to a surprising extent, this has been accurate for me.

And these days with social media being a large part of marketing, and applications like Xero doing the heavy lifting with the bookkeeping, it is much easier to focus on the creative and making aspects of design which is what I enjoy the most and why I chose this career path.

Looking back at your achievements so far, what is one thing you are immensely proud of?

There have been some nice achievements so far, but in all honesty, I am just proud to have my own studio/workshop and work for myself.

Stepping out on my own back in 2017 was a bit of a punt – and while things didn’t always happen as fast as I wanted, I have gone from subletting 6 square meters of bench space from a larger workshop (while still working full-time as an architect) to now working for myself fulltime and having my own 200sqm workshop filled with my machinery. This still puts a smile on my face.

Not so much because this represents career progression but more because inherent in this career progression is a work-life balance where I get to work when I want, only on projects I want – and I also get to spend heaps more time with my wife and two children than I otherwise would.

What do you feel is the most challenging part of being a designer today?

There is just so much happening all the time. If you have new work; it can be hard to break through the noise. If you are trying to stay on task there are plenty of distractions to divide your focus.

I used to try to do it all but now I sort of just block it all out and focus on the tasks at hand. At least for the time being.

It no doubt means some missed opportunities but it also means I get to sleep.

And if you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

The design industry is so complex I can’t think of a silver bullet that would change it for the better.

Bespoke tables for the Australian Unity HQ, designed by Bates Smart. Photo by Peter Clarke.

Custom table for the Gilbert & Tobin fit out by Woods Bagot. Photo by Sharyn Cairns.

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

I draw inspiration from all kinds of places, historical figures and stories to contemporary icons as well.

It can be anyone engaging in their creative pursuit and finding their way through the challenges.

Kanye West is one example of someone who inspires me to retain that belief in your work — regardless of whether other people see it.

There is this song ‘Last Call’ at the end of his first album which goes for like 13 minutes, and half of it is him talking about, the setbacks and the roadblocks he came up against in the lead up to that first album release. And when he wasn’t being given opportunities he just made his own. And eventually had his breakthroughs.

This self-belief and vision to just keep on going, I find it pretty reassuring to me when I am up to my eyeballs in a CAD file and in a spiral of existential dread. I’m kidding. Sort of. I think we’ve all been there. And I think we all have our ways of pushing on. And looking around at others for motivation is one of mine.

What advice would you give to emerging designers who want to follow your path?

When it comes to starting up your design business, don’t let perfection be the enemy of good. If you wait until the time is right to start exploring your ideas and your business – there is a good chance the time will never be right.

And if you wait until you have the perfect design to start building your business or your network/audience, you will actually have no one to show your work to at that time when your work is good enough to be someone else’s perfect.

Social media being what it is these days gives you a global reach and a tangible way for finding people to buy your product or get on board with what you are doing.

So just get amongst it – you will find your place.

What was one of your biggest lessons learned since starting your practice?

The world is really big and really small at the same time. So set your sights accordingly.

What’s next—can you share with us your vision, some of your goals and some of your current projects?

At the moment I am not really thinking too far in advance.

I am about to commence production on the largest most complicated boardroom table I have ever made. So this will be occupying the next few months of production in my workshop, not to mention the majority of the floor space.

And I am making some furniture for a project by my friends at Pattern Studio which I am excited to see come to life as well.

The fitout that started it all — Josh’s Legless Stools for Woods Bagot’s Melbourne Studio. Photo by Brooke Holm.