Friends and digital designers Sue and Kate were longing to step away from their computers and create something tactile. It was from this desire that Twin was born, a jewellery and homewares label based in Melbourne. Read on to discover more about their unique and raw collection, inspiring you to touch and feel.
Tell us a bit about Twin and what products we can expect to discover?
Twin is a collaboration between designers and long time friends, Sue Croke and Kate Faulkner.
Together we make concrete and copper homewares, including our much loved petite planters and vases, as well as a collection of minimalist jewellery.
The name of our label is ambiguous – we are both twins, just not with each other. Together we have a twin-like relationship, which suits our creative partnership perfectly, allowing us to share in each stage of the design process.
What are your backgrounds and how did you start working together?
We met around 7 years ago at an art school in Perth; we were both studying and still finding our feet in the creative industry and in life. We both loved the idea of cute for cute’s sake and bonded over a few sneaky wines in our lunch breaks. We were separated geographically for a while as we studied and worked in different states. Sue pursued graphic design and illustration, while Kate found her niche in digital design.
Jump a few years forward, we found ourselves reunited in Melbourne and dreaming of our art school days spent gossiping over clay and print making, we decided it was about time we collaborated! When we finally found ourselves in the same town we knew we had to collaborate. The label started quite organically – we began making things for our own homes, then our friends and family, and it has grown from there.
What inspires your work? What keeps you motivated creatively?
We are inspired by our favourite materials, textures, colours, our creative pals and the charming city we live in.
We are kept motivated creatively by each other, where one of us has a weakness, the other has a strength, if one of us is feeling deflated, the other is full of energy.
What is your creative workspace like, and what inspires you about your surroundings?
We do most of our creative play in a shared studio space in Hawthorn. It is a cosy, busy little workshop that is often covered in a fine layer of copper leaf! We try to bring our inspirations inside, covering our workspace and homes in plants and flowers.
What challenges have you faced starting your own label, and what are some things you love about it?
Starting a label brings with it many little challenges! There’s a lot of research to do and a bunch of decisions and sacrifices to make, but we are lucky to have each other to share those steps with along the way.
We really enjoy days spent working together in the studio, drinking tea and chatting endlessly. We also love taking our wares to market and meeting the people whose homes our beauties will end up in.
What new projects are you working on and where would you like to see Twin in the future?
We’ve been working on a new collection and pushing ourselves to play with new mediums, techniques and creating many one-off pieces.
We are also experimenting with large scale hanging installations that see our copper mobiles paired with lots of lush greenery!
(this is something I’ve been thinking about in the last few days lolz, could be rad?!)
We feel pretty blessed to be working together, and hope to keep upping the creativity and happiness levels of our little venture.
Oh, and some more Twin travel would be amazing! We’d love to take regular trips to widen our perspectives and keep inspired.
