Design Tasmania

06/10/2026

The Design Tasmania store, gallery and wood collection will be closed on Thursday 8 October for the Launceston public holiday. We'll reopen on Friday – see you then.

18/09/2026

Design Tasmania is supporting a national survey of craft and design practice in Australia – and we need Tasmanian designers and makers to contribute.

This survey is an Australian Design Centre Legacy Project in collaboration with the Australian Craft and Design Centres (ACDC Network), NAVA and Craft Australia.

The data collected will help sector organisations advocate for practitioners and make a stronger case for local and national funding, opportunities, education, business support and policy change.

The survey takes 9–12 minutes, is completely anonymous and is open until 2 October 2026.

🔗 Complete the survey via the link in bio before 2 October 2026.

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

08/08/2026

Applications are now open for the 2026 Kate Derum & Irene Davies Awards.

Presented by the Australian Tapestry Workshop, the biennial Kate Derum & Irene Davies Awards celebrate creativity, excellence and innovation in contemporary tapestry. New for 2026 is the Innovation Award, recognising artists who are expanding the possibilities of tapestry through experimentation with technique, materials, process and design.

Entries are open to artists from around the world.

Applications close: Monday 7 September 2026.

Find the full eligibility criteria and application details on the Australian Tapestry website:
http://www.austapestry.com.au/content/applications-2026-kate-derum-irene-davies-awards-are-now-open

05/08/2026

Write DESIGNER, a campaign for the Australian Census 2026, presented by the Design Institute of Australia and produced by Clemenger BBDO. Spoken word by N'fa Jones. Original score by Jonah Gabriel.

Featuring projects by Leah Heiss and Blamey Saunders hears; OOXii Global Pty Ltd; Portable; RØDE Microphones; Committee for Melbourne; Free 3D Hands; Cobalt Design; Marc Newson; Romance Was Born; Blackmagic Design; Balarinji and Maringka Baker; Carbon Creative; PACCAR Australia for Kenworth Australia; Ludo Studio; HemPanel; Wonki Pty Ltd; Reef Design Lab; Büro North; Hanes Australasia t/a Bonds; Carr; Tonkin Zulaikha Greer; BAU and Grant Amon Architects; Alfred Lowe; Blanche Tilden; and Matter of Sorts.

For more information: https://www.design.org.au/write-designer

31/07/2026

Write DESIGNER. 11 August. Census Night.

Australia's designers are undercounted. Help establish the most accurate picture yet of Australia's design workforce and build the evidence for greater recognition of designers in the future.

Census data informs government policy and shapes decisions on skills, education and industry investment. If you are a designer, whatever your discipline, make yourself count. Write DESIGNER when you complete your Census on 11 August. And, in the true spirit of design, where a problem worth solving is a problem shared, pass it on.

Learn how to write DESIGNER design.org.au/write-designer

30/07/2026

Circular Hospitality Project | Update

We were fortunate to host Esther Gyorki from Regional Arts Australia's Industry Residency program recently for artist Kate Bowman's 'Rock, Waste and Glaze' workshop at Design Tasmania.

Participants created ceramic tiles using waste materials while learning how oyster shells, glass, bricks and bone are being transformed into glazes, lighting, tiles and other objects through the project, and Kate's time with The Agrarian Kitchen, Dier Makr and Scholé.

“The residency is great because it’s allowed me to look deeper into other materials,” says Kate. “It’s afforded me the time to really go deep and look at other test cases.”

Read the full story on RAA's website here: https://regionalarts.com.au/resources/giving-hospitality-waste-new-material-stories

Bowman Ceramics
Arts Australia

30/07/2026

Circular Hospitality Project | Update

We were fortunate to host Esther Gyorki from Regional Arts Australia's Industry Residency program recently for artist Kate Bowman's 'Rock, Waste and Glaze' workshop at Design Tasmania.

Participants created ceramic tiles using waste materials while learning how oyster shells, glass, bricks and bone are being transformed into glazes, lighting, tiles and other objects through the project, and Kate's time with The Agrarian Kitchen, Dier Makr and Scholé.

“The residency is great because it’s allowed me to look deeper into other materials,” says Kate. “It’s afforded me the time to really go deep and look at other test cases.”

Read the full story on RAA's website here: https://regionalarts.com.au/resources/giving-hospitality-waste-new-material-stories

09/07/2026

We were thrilled to welcome a visit from recently as part of a partnership with , with e-commerce manager, Lindzi Mann, recommending Design Tasmania as one of her favourite local places to visit.

Waverley Mills is equally one of our favourite neighbours, and we’re proud to be part of Launceston’s enduring legacy of design, craftsmanship and manufacturing – a legacy that has stood the test of time.

Read the full article here through link in bio.

Pictured:
Michelle Boyde, Artistic Director Design Tasmania
View from the Design Tasmania Design Store
Waverley Mills weaving in action
Lindzi Mann from Waverley Mills

Photography Eve Wilson

23/06/2026

Current Exhibition | MAKERS: the process
Closing this Sunday 2pm

MAKERS: Lutruwita/Tasmania, the book authored by Ivett Dodd, is the foundation upon which MAKERS: the process draws from. Curated by Ivette, and in her own words: "the exhibition celebrates the raw problem-solving and hands-on making that turns an idea into something to behold. It is about curiosity, the initial inspiration and the tactile process of making. While we often marvel at a finished piece, the journey from a spark of inspiration to a physical object is paved with re-thinking, problem-solving, dreaming, and learning”

Ben Richardson’s ceramic work and Nataša Milenović’ jewellery draw on forms of nature and translate elements in ways that are unique to each maker.

“Under the bark of the wattle trees, grubs make patterns as they feed; I made a roller from a branch with this pattern and apply it to clay surfaces. It’s a texture that you can repeat and overlay. I’m not trying to make it look like what I see in nature – it’s about producing a texture that is suggestive of that" – Ben Richardson

“The beach is a place I love to be. It’s very inspiring as it’s different every day, with all these new plants, rocks and shells washed up on the shore. I observe nature. You can really see the different seasons of seaweed related to the tides … I collect all these different plants and then I select the parts I really like. I make templates by drying and pressing them. The process for me starts with making an abstraction of a shape" – Nataša Milenović:

Exhibition open until the 31st of June
Wednesday–Saturday: 10am–3pm Sunday: 10am–2pm

18/06/2026

Current Exhibition | MAKERS: the
process

MAKERS: the process offers a rare insight into how
designed works come into being, bringing objects
directly from the makers' studios to our gallery floor.
Within the MAKERS book, and on display in the
exhibition is artist Nanna Bayer’s ceramic components
she uses to assemble and construct larger works as
well as jewellery.

"Mistakes are actually really important, because they
are the points where you can learn things. I mean,
mentally, and as a human, if you’re always successful,
what can you learn in life? What is it you remember
later on? You’ll remember those moments when you
had hard times and you made it through, in one way or
another."

Also part of the book and on display are textile artist
Deborah Wace’s flower press, etchings and prints for
wallpaper and textiles.

"The process is one of being in nature and really
asking permission from nature. This means that when
I’m collecting plants for pressing, I make sure there is
enough of what I’m gathering."