THE
PAST.
THE PAST.
MODERN DESIGNERS AND MODERN FURNITURE
“…OPTIMISM, ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT…
CHARACTERISED AUSTRALIAN FURNITURE DESIGN
IN THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY…INNOVATIONS
IN MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING…ENABLED
THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW AND OFTEN RADICAL
FORMS OF CONTEMPORARY FURNITURE…”
Kirsty Grant (ed), Mid-Century Modern: Australian Furniture
Design, Melbourne, Australia, National Gallery of Victoria,
2014, p. 2.
TH BROWN & SONS
TH Brown & Sons established by Thomas Brown and originally
known as Brown Brothers Wholesale Chair Manufacturers commenced
making and supplying chairs in South Australia in 1911. For much
of the 20th century they were based in Mile End with a significant
manufacturing facility covering approximately 1.5 hectares by the
mid-20th century.
Thomas Brown’s youngest son, Peter Brown joined the business
following WW2. Drawing on his experience in drafting and design,
he was responsible for the creation of the iconic furniture pieces
manufactured by TH Brown in this period. The dining chair was first
designed for commercial use as a boardroom or office chair but its
elegant spade back and runner-less legs became so popular it was
soon released as a dining chair. The chair was available upholstered
or with a woven rush seat.
Peter and his brother Napier continued to expand the business
until 1987 when Peter, then CEO, retired and sold the business
which remains today as Workspace Commercial Furniture, a leading
manufacturer of commercial contract furniture still based in Melrose
Park Adelaide. Peter Brown’s son Simon has recently re invigorated
the TH Brown brand in partnership with Workspace reissuing a
selection of their classic pieces from the mid-20th century.
T.H. Brown & Sons P/L dining chair, designer: Peter Brown (circa 1960)
Hilton and Mile End South, South Australia
Teak frame, bentwood backrest, upholstered seat
Courtesy of Paul Gerard, Realm Furniture
T.H. Brown & Sons P/L dining table, designer: Peter Brown (circa 1960)
Hilton and Mile End South, South Australia
Teak
Courtesy of Jane Lawrence
LEO CONCI & SONS Leo Conci established a concreting business in Brooklyn Park
following his migration to Australia. The family-run business soon
produced formed steel door frames and balustrades which they
also manufactured from their Brooklyn Park factory. The balustrades
lead to planters, garden light fittings, and decorative items and
THE COLLECTORS eventually to steel-framed furniture.
Collectors of mid-century design are a curious breed. I often wonder what possesses
an individual to commit both time and money to the pursuit of finding and obtaining The Conci family were remarkable innovators. They designed
and built their own tooling and were early adopters of the latest
artefacts from the past. Perhaps it’s the thrill of the chase that leads many of us to
technologies from Europe such as electrostatic paint spraying.
Sunday markets and garage sales while others are sleeping; or is it longing for a place
and time that The iconic (and in Adelaide, almost omnipresent) small mesh chair
embodies the modernist ideal of a better tomorrow made possible by good design? was designed by Leo’s teenage son Dino in 1959. Like all Conci
pieces it was manufactured in Brooklyn Park where the family
Dean Keep, ‘The Collector made everything from the tool making to the upholstery.
Collecting the past: memories of mid-century design’, in Kirsty Grant (ed), Mid-Centu-
ry Modern: Australian Furniture Design, Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria, 2014, Conci continues today as a furniture retailer at their original site
in Brooklyn Park.
p. 76.
The curators are grateful to the collectors who have supported this exhibition by so
generously making their pieces available:
Paul Gerard, Realm Furniture
Leo Conci & Sons outdoor setting, designer: Dino Conci (1959)
Brooklyn Park, South Australia
Expanded steel mesh, enamel paint
Courtesy of Simon Trnovsky
FLER CO & STAFF (SA) P/L Fritz (Fred) Lowen is one of the icons of Australian furniture design.
A Jewish refugee from Germany who was forcibly expatriated to
Australia on the notorious Dunera cruise turned prison ship in 1940.
He established a design and drafting career producing hand-turned
table ware and established a business with Ernest Roderick. Their
business, FLER - named for the partners initials, manufactured table
ware and self propelling pencils under the ‘Easy Glide’ brand. The
pair branched into furniture in the late 1940s supplying the Myer
Emporium with chairs designed by Fred Ward. After visiting the
Festival of Britain and Scandinavia, Lowen designed the Narvik range
that utilised the Scandinavian methods of knockdown construction
but still with a handcrafted appearance.
FLER had developed significant manufacturing capacity in Melbourne
and in 1959 Lowen’s brother Howard moved to Adelaide and bought
a small furniture manufacturer in Edwardstown which went on to
become the most profitable and successful in the group. FLER had
factories in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane and
was Australia’s first national furniture manufacturer.
FLER Co & Staff (SA) P/L Narvik daybed and chair,
designer: Fritz (Fred) Lowen (1961)
Edwardstown, South Australia
Teak, woollen upholstery
Courtesy of Paul Gerard, Realm Furniture
MACROB
Macrob manufactured furniture in Burford Gardens (now Dry Creek)
in the mid to late 20th century. Their wall units, room dividers and bar
units are highly sought after by mid-20th century furniture collectors
yet the history of the design and manufacture of these popular items
is not well documented.
The free-standing room divider and the wall unit tells a story of the
popularisation of modernism through furniture pieces that were
used instead of solid walls to divide open space. The unit speaks of
space efficiency and the embracing of new technologies, particularly
in-home entertainment such as lighter smaller music devices and
television.
Macrob wall unit, designer: Macrob (circa 1960)
Burford Gardens (Dry Creek), South Australia
Teak
Courtesy of Paul Gerard, Realm Furniture
KERBY
Kerby was a furniture manufacturer in St Marys about whom very
little is documented. The sideboard chosen for this exhibition has
Scandinavian modernist references: horizontal proportions; the
appearance of handcrafting through elegant built-in handles;
and a set-back undercarriage. It floats in space and talks of order
and cleanliness.
A very deliberate move away from the cluttered china cabinet, these
types of sideboards were widely manufactured to support a sparer
and more curated approach to the display of objects in the home.
Kerby (SA) Ltd sideboard, designer: Kerby (circa 1960)
St Marys, South Australia
Teak
Courtesy of Paul Gerard, Realm Furniture
ER NOBLETT & SONS
ER Noblett & Sonswere one of a significant cluster of furniture
manufacturers based in the West Torrens area of Adelaide, alongside
the Perry Furniture Company, Robb Furniture, Wraight Furniture,
South Australian Plywood Limited,,Walker Furniture Manufacturing,
and TH Brown and Sons.
The nesting table as a typology is emblematic of the period
demonstrating flexibility in space usage through furniture pieces
that are lightweight and adaptable.
Noblett produced dining chairs, tables, sideboards and iconic
nesting tables in the Scandinavian style in the 1950 and 1960s.
They produced furniture throughout the 20th century until they
ceased trading in 1999.
Noblett Furniture P/L nesting tables, designer: Noblett (circa 1960)
Richmond, South Australia
Teak
Courtesy of Paul Gerard, Realm Furniture
THE COLLECTORS.
MODERN DESIGNERS AND MODERN FURNITURE
“COLLECTORS OF MID-CENTURY DESIGN ARE A
CURIOUS BREED. I OFTEN WONDER WHAT
POSSESSES AN INDIVIDUAL TO COMMIT BOTH
TIME AND MONEY TO THE PURSUIT OF FINDING
AND OBTAINING ARTEFACTS FROM THE PAST.
PERHAPS IT’S THE THRILL OF THE CHASE THAT
LEADS MANY OF US TO SUNDAY MARKETS AND
GARAGE SALES WHILE OTHERS ARE SLEEPING;
OR IS IT LONGING FOR A PLACE AND TIME THAT
EMBODIES THE MODERNIST IDEAL OF A BETTER
TOMORROW MADE POSSIBLE BY GOOD DESIGN?”
Dean Keep, ‘The Collector Collecting the past: memories
of mid-century design’, in Kirsty Grant (ed), Mid-Century
Modern: Australian Furniture Design, Melbourne,
National Gallery of Victoria, 2014, p. 76.
The curators are grateful to the collectors who have supported
this exhibition by so generously making their pieces available:
Paul Gerard, Realm Furniture
Jane Lawrence
Simon Trnovsky
