Design & Other

posted by Cara Bray May 12, 2015

Melbourne based duo Design & Other are creative partnership with a love for travel and understanding their chosen medium of silkscreen printing. Founded in 2009 by designers Cameron Lofthouse and Monica Placella, the pair have completed a wide range of projects both locally and internationally and have spent the last three years moving from place to place whilst mastering their craft. Their style blends seamlessly blends digital and handmade processes, whilst investigating the interface between art and design practice, to create a energetic and colourful result.

With their prints now available on Department Store, we asked the two about their inspirations behind the finished products.

Where do you gather your inspirations?

Inspiration comes from the everyday, travels, food and bits and pieces we pass by. These end up as a kind of collective memory from the two of us. A summary of a moment in time.

Tell us about an item from your Department Store collection and where the concept behind it came from.

Döner Carpets is part of our ‘In Giro’ series – each print draws on two personal recollections of a place – in this case Istanbul. We spent a few weeks in Istanbul in the summer of 2011. Carpet-lined streets and delicious treats. The rugs are suspended in the air, curled like the fresh meat from the spit. We printed these during a residency at Amsterdams Grafisch Atelier, which was actually the first time we ever silkscreen printed together!

What are your favourite colour combinations?

We’re fond of many colour combinations, but we do love a red & blue or purple & green colour combo!

What new work/products are you currently working on?

We’re collaborating on a new series of work with a friend, combining our silkscreen work with his thread/stitching based stuff. We’ll also be exploring new substrates and giving the squeegee a good work out on a few new prints on paper too.