Stylish, innovative and even the quirky were on display at the 2009 Design:Made:Trade fair. Housed in the beautifully spacious Royal Exhibition Building, a wide selection of amazingly designed and predominantly unique jewellery, prints, textiles, furniture, home wares and crafts were on offer. As I perused the extensive array of stalls constructed completely of recycled cardboard, I was overwhelmed with excitement and inspiration, which alone was worth the trip. I also took some time and interviewed a selection of talented designers, and asked them about their design:made:trade process and some of the challenges they faced.

Alex Earl, designer and producer of unique lighting and furniture pieces. What gives him the edge is his ability to cut most materials to any design he wants. With state-of-the-art machinery at his Collingwood studio he is able to have complete control of the process of designing to production. One of his biggest challenges was having good time management and being focused to see things through.

Anna Blanford is the creative half of stationary company Able and Game. Launched last year on Valentine’s Day with their quirky and funny greeting cards have received outstanding positive response. Initially selling at the Fitzroy Rose Street Market as individually made pieces which were expensive and time-consuming to run and sell. They opted for digital printing, which has multiplied their success. What stands out is their unique humour and their ability to appeal to both men and women. Their challenges lied with obtaining good suppliers and ensuring their products were consistently high quality.

Penelope Gale from is a textile designer who individually screen prints wonderful detailed patterns on kimono silk. Inspired by her travels in Asia, she set upon creating beautiful textiles for decoration, screens and cushions. Having only graduated last year and being new to the market, her biggest challenge is getting her name out there and promoting her product and surviving a little sleep deprivation.

Gretchen Hillhouse is a jewellery and ceramic designer. She draws inspiration from Victorian 1900s and other eras to create innovative porcelain pieces. Having a fine art and sculpture background, she decided to stick to jewellery-making because it was easier to keep an eye on her children as the creations were smaller and could be made on the kitchen bench. She has been a success story, she has four part-time helpers and sales agent and many distributors. Her collections have been shown throughout Australia and overseas. Her challenge was being able to wear different hats in business when dealing with agents and distributors and advises to trust in the process. She believes trade fairs are brilliant for marketing and selling of her product. Her humble beginnings were through a trade fair like this one where she was exhibiting some clothes whereby she made jewellery to accompany with, she sold only the jewellery and received many enquiries, which opened her new opportunities.

I also had a chat to Miguel Valenzuela, Creative Director from housemouse, who has been featured on mecho previously with their Wrapped by housemouse™ paper range and as a guest blogger.

Guest contribution and photos by Duy Huynh, Melbourne

Also view the feature of the fav exhibitor by mecho voters: Sticky Pic – People’s Choice DMT09

If you enjoyed this feature, you may want to Sign-up to our mecho e-newsletter for our latest style updates, giveaways and other juicy stuff. Don’t forget to check out our current Competitions & Giveaways

Join us on:

Discover More Stylish features below:

• 2011 State of Design Festival – Design:Made:Trade, Melbourne
• CC Skye Wide Mesh Bracelet
• Design:Made:Trade – Apply now, entries close soon!
• Videos: 2011 Design Made Trade interviews