www.lauramccusker.com
laura@lauramccusker.com

1957. Rio de Janeiro. My mother, aged 15, looks out the window, eagerly awaiting the arrival of a chair. A chair that has been measured, designed and handcrafted just for her by the local maker down the road. When my grandmother died, this chair was shipped from Brazil to Sydney, then down to the small island of Tasmania for my young daughter. Her fingers dance over the same joins and curves of the Jacaranda wood, just as her grandmother's did fifty years earlier. It is furniture with a story. Furniture made to last. Handcrafted, to be used and loved.

My aim as a designer and maker is that my work will inspire stories such as this one. I design objects that are appealing on different levels; pieces that people will enjoy relating to and using. They need to be beautiful, useful, and perform the task for which they were designed, well.

I am passionate about combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design. Recently described as the “slow food” equivalent of the design world, I seek to infuse my work with a richness that deepens the ways in which people connect with my pieces. As much as possible, I am involved in every step of the process, from design through to initial manufacture. While I will admit to using drawing software occasionally, I still prefer to sketch with pencil and paper, as I believe it strengthens the relationship between mind and hand. I hand pick the wood from the timberyards to ensure the right cut and grain, and once back in the workshop I get started making the furniture myself. Living and working in Tasmania (an island off an island at the bottom of the world!) production and distribution are always in the forefront of my mind. My pieces can be economically made and easily shipped.

Surrounded by the Tasmanian wilderness, I am acutely aware of the precious resource with which I work. The idea of buying a piece of furniture for a look or as part of a fad promotes the wider problems of our throw-away society. The limited availability of natural resources is an important issue in my design, and so I strive for a timeless aesthetic and ensure longevity through quality, traditional joinery techniques.

For me, designing and making is an organic process, inseparable from the everyday goings on of my life. Moments of inspiration such as making origami with my children, a barcode on my cereal box, or the light flickering through stands of trees often form the seed of an idea. This is layered upon the cross-cultural influences of my childhood; the knowledge and skills gained through studies in design and fine woodwork; and an intimate knowledge of the materials I work with. As I chat with clients in my workshop and they see their furniture taking shape, these influences and layers are shared, and hopefully, so begins their stories.

BIOGRAPHY

Laura McCusker began an apprenticeship in cabinetmaking at the age of 22, and in 1998 built on this experience with further training in Fine Woodworking at the Sturt School for Wood.

She has exhibited regularly since, including at The Sydney Powerhouse Museum as a finalist in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Young Designer of the Year Award (2002), the winner of Belle magazine’s inaugural New Functional Design Award (2003) and at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery as part of the City of Hobart Art Prize (2004). Recently she accepted an invitation from Mathias Schwartz-Clauss, Curator of the Vitra Design Museum, to a tour of the museum’s collection and manufacturing facilities in Switzerland and participated in a 2009 Vitra Design Workshop at Domaine de Boisbuchet in France through the generous support of Arts Tasmania.  

Her work is described as ‘exceptional’ by Tyler Brule, and has featured regularly in Australian and international interior design publications including The Financial Times (UK & Asia), The Sydney Morning Herald, Vogue Living, Object Magazine, Australian Style, Belle, Craft Arts International, Inside Out and the Australian Financial Review. In 2003, she was the subject of an episode of ABC TV’s ‘Designers’ series focusing on her studio work.

McCusker has taught Design and Contemporary Art and Craft at university, TAFE and secondary school levels, recently completing her Bachelor of Adult and Vocational Education, and enjoys the benefits of combining her professional practice as an artist with her passion for teaching design and manufacture.

CURRIULUM VITAE

Selected Publications & Broadcasts

2009   The Sydney Morning Herald - December 5, 2009
          The Australian Financial Review Magazine - Life & Leisure Luxury November 09
2006   Australian House & Garden May 06
2005   Australian Wood Review Issue 48
          The Australian Financial Review - Interiors

2004   VOGUE LIVING Apartments 2004 Special Issue
          Object Issue 44
          Financial Review (UK & Asia), Tyler Brûlé - Fast Lane March 27/28

2003   Artichoke Interior Architecture and Design 05/vol 02
          The Australian Financial Review Magazine - Design Issue November 03
          Lino Issue No.2
          Australian Style Autumn Quarterly Issue 67
          Belle August/September, June/July & April/May
          702 ABC Sydney Radio Weekends with Simon Marnie June 15
          ABC TV (Education) - ‘Designers’ August & November

2002   Belle Collectors’ Edition December/January 02/03
          Donna Hay Magazine Spring Issue 5
          Sydney Weekly Courier August 6
          The Sun-Herald Sunday Metro June 13
          Domain Sydney Morning Herald June 13 -19

2001   Inside Out June Issue 13
          Inside Out March Issue 10
          Australian Wood Review Issue 30

2000   Metropolitan Sydney Morning Herald November 4
          Domain Sydney Morning Herald October 26
          Greenhouse Living March
         ‘Our House’ Channel 9 February
          Craft Arts International Issue 47

1999   Australian Wood Review Issue 24
          House & Garden October
          Domain Sydney Morning Herald September 9
          Smarts Issue 18 June
          Object Issue 2

Selected Exhibitions:

• 2009

Splinter - An Exhibition of Contemporary Furniture and Objects
The Tin Sheds Gallery, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, Chippendale NSW

2005

Different Readings – a contemporary interpretation of the Allport Furniture Collection Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, State Library of Tasmania, Hobart TAS

2004

City of Hobart Art Prize 2004 Freeman Gallery, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart TAS

Show and Tell – Furniture Designers Association Annual Exhibition Mawson’s Place, Hobart & The Design Centre, Launceston TAS

2003

belle New Functional Design Award Installation in conjunction with Chee Soon & Fitzgerald Artspace, Woolloomooloo NSW

2002

Surfaced – Furniture and Objects Sturt Gallery Mittagong NSW

2001

SMH Young Designer of the Year - Finalist Exhibition Powerhouse Museum Sydney NSW

Objectives - An Exhibition of Contemporary Design from Splinter Workshop Canberra School of Art Canberra ACT

Defining the Object III Quadrivium Gallery Sydney NSW

1999

10x2 Splinter Workshop Exhibition Grace Bros City Store Sydney NSW

x10 Splinter Workshop Exhibition Sturt Gallery, Mittagong NSW

1998 

Sturt School for Wood Graduate Exhibition, Sturt Gallery, Mittagong NSW

Grants & Awards

2009   Dean's Honour Roll of Excellence (Faculty of Education), University of Tasmania

           Hydro Tasmania Vocational and Adult Learning Prize

2008   Arts Tasmania Grant (Visual Arts and Crafts)

           Vitra Design Workshop (France) and Vitra Museum (Switzerland)

2003   belle New Functional Design Award - Winner

2003   Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Awards – second round finalist

2002   Sydney Morning Herald Young Designer of the Year - Finalist

2000   Craft Mark Accreditation

2000   Craft Australia Selection for the Craft @ Work Project

1999   NAVA Marketing Grant Splinter x10 Exhibition

Education & Qualifications

2007 – 2009 Bachelor of Adult and Vocational Education (BAdVocEd)

University of Tasmania Hobart TAS

2006 Bachelor of Vocational Education and Training (BVET)

Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga NSW

2006 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA40104)

CSU Training Wagga Wagga NSW

1998 Certificate IV in Fine Woodworking

Sturt School for Wood Mittagong NSW

1995 Bachelor of Arts Degree (First Year)

Sydney University

Selected Work Experience

2009 - selected furniture for the MONA Pavillions, Moorilla Estate (Tasmania) in conjunction with Fender Katsalidis Architects

2005 – present Teacher in Materials, Design and Technology

           The Friends’ School, North Hobart TAS

2006 – 2007 Sessional Teacher, Wood Design Studio

           Department of Art Craft & Design, TAFE, Warrane TAS

2004 – 2006 Cabinet maker and Boat builder

           North West Bay Ships, Margate TAS

2002 Lecturer in Applied Object Design

           UNSW College of Fine Arts, Sydney NSW

2000 Craft Australia

           Craft@work Pilot Program

2000 National Gallery of Australia

           Centenary of Federation Exhibition Splinter Workshop NSW

1998 – Present Furniture Designer and Maker

           Sydney – Splinter Workshop NSW, Hobart TAS

1996 Cabinetmaking apprenticeship

           P & C Joinery, Sydney NSW