Material explorations, traditional craft and the hand of the maker place these emerging designers at the forefront of collectable design.
This piece originally appeared in est magazine issue 55: ‘Faces of Design’.
Proudly supported by Skupa.
Playing on dichotomies, Simone Tops of Melbourne-based Studio Tops uses design to express dualities such as beautiful and ugly, soft and hard, light and dark, empty and voluminous – ultimately coalescing in what she describes as a “comfortable discomfort”.
Tops started her career as an artist before moving into the world of fabrication. Never really losing her penchant for making, Studio Tops evolved along the spectrum of art and design, sculpture and function.
Tops’ approach is deeply grounded in materiality. “I use the idea of mimicry in materials—I use materials that can be interchanged and play off the other characteristics. For example, hand dying leather in a way to create an almost steel-like finish, and then waxing steel to give it a leather-like finish,” the artist explains.
Simone Tops with her Dromen Series chair. Tops bridges art and functional design objects, bringing a level of thinking to her pieces.
The Dromen Series explores leather and steel, styled by Christina Teresinski.
Combining maker, artist, and designer, Simone Tops pushes the boundaries of design.
