Making with less taught me to see more.

Collaborating with my first lecturer and long-time mentor, Aly Peel, founder of Maiike, marked a significant shift in my practice. It moved my focus beyond creating new products towards rethinking the materials, systems, and assumptions that underpin how products are made.

Working with reclaimed wool and cashmere sourced from op shops, I helped develop handcrafted garments, toys, and quilts that celebrated material recovery rather than concealed it. Each piece was designed and produced in North Melbourne, demonstrating that thoughtful design is not dependent on new resources, but on imagination, craftsmanship, and an understanding of material potential.

Working within a small-scale local manufacturing environment provided valuable insight into every stage of production. Design, patternmaking, construction, finishing, and quality existed as one continuous process, reinforcing the value of close collaboration between designer, maker, and material.

This experience strengthened my belief that sustainability is not a feature added at the end of product development. It begins with the decisions made at the very beginning - what we choose to make, how we make it, and how long we intend it to last.