Peter Bollington of Curious Tales on designing with a connection between space and material

Walking around IKEA on the weekend is a lot of fun and can often provide inspiration for your home. But looking around it’s easy to see four or five other people picking up exactly the same piece of furniture to achieve exactly the same look.

Personally, I believe that a chair, table, or any piece should speak to your unique style, and the space itself – your home’s story. It’s not about piecing together a relationship-testing flat-pack. A piece of furniture should flow with the room it has been created for and seamlessly connect to the material the piece was whittled from.

Peter Bollington of Curious Tales uses this connection between space and material to create bespoke pieces that truly make spaces sing.

“I was always drawn to the medium of timber, there is a beautiful warmth found in it that is not found in any other medium,” Bollington says.

“As it’s a natural resource it means that no two pieces of timber are exactly alike, therefore each piece of furniture contains a uniqueness and individuality.

“The genre of furniture has a very intimate relationship with the viewer, often directly shaping how we use and inhabit the spaces in our lives. When combining the material and genre I feel it creates a deeper connection between the user, the piece and its environment.”

While the process of making such connections and turning it all into a masterpiece seems like an intricate task, Bollington starts his design process with a simple pencil and sketchbook.

“Generally I will start by noting details and general ideas. At this stage I resist the urge to erase anything as it will often leads to another idea down the track,” he explains.

“If the piece is for a custom order, I try to meet with the client in their home to run through ideas as it’s often as much about how the piece will inhabit their environment as it is how the piece looks on its own. Then I will refine the details on the computer.”

Canberra is a great launchpad for young designers looking to get their work out there, and when Bollingtonr launched Curious Tales in 2012, the community offered a wealth of support.

“Canberra has really embraced what I am doing and I feel it’s been the ideal location to be able to connect with my clients and offer a truly bespoke solution for their needs,” he says.

“Having the support of organisations like Craft ACT to promote my work along with having displays at Meet Gather Collect really gives the public a tangible connect to the work and offers a point for the conversation to start.”

As 2019 starts to ramp up, Curious Tales is looking forward to some exciting challenges and growth opportunities.

“It is a beautiful thing to see a design come to life from an early concept sketch into a realised piece of furniture, to know that single crafted piece of furniture encompasses a specific moment in time and seeing the joy and appreciation for the piece shown by the client is like nothing else,” Bollington says.

“We’ve got a number of great custom projects coming up, along with some very exciting collaborations with some other incredible designer makers. Not to mention some more original pieces in the pipeline which will make their way into the collection throughout the year.”

Curious Tales pieces are currently on display and for sale at Meet Gather Collect in Aranda, while a small collection of homewares are also available at Craft ACT shop in the city and the Australian Design Centre in Sydney.

www.curioustales.com.au