Richard and Marni had a whirlwind trip to Sydney over the weekend to experience ‘Saturday inDesign’. Blue skies and perfect sunny winter weather set the scene for a fun, relaxing and inspiring day.

Some highlights were: Barbies at Zenith/Bolon, Stylecraft + Kohler’s innovative recycling of their old ring binders as display statues, hailing an open-top Mini for a ride around town (much more fun than the bus), Schiavallo’s irreverent urban backyard, self enclosed breakout structures at Corporate Culture, champagne cork mini-chairs, and drinking champagne while watching the fireworks display (kindly provided by someone else’s function) over the water under the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Congratulations to Indesign and their tireless team for producing yet another spectacular event. We look forward to the next one with much anticipation…

Some highlights were: Barbies at Zenith/Bolon, Stylecraft + Kohler’s innovative recycling of their old ring binders as display statues, hailing an open-top Mini for a ride around town (much more fun than the bus), Schiavallo’s irreverent urban backyard, self enclosed breakout structures at Corporate Culture, champagne cork mini-chairs, and drinking champagne while watching the fireworks display (kindly provided by someone else’s function) over the water under the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Congratulations to Indesign and their tireless team for producing yet another spectacular event. We look forward to the next one with much anticipation…

In preparation for the world-exclusive exhibition ‘American Impressionism and Realism: A Landmark Exhibition from the Met’ (weblink), which opened at the end of May, Qld Art Gallery staff have been flat-out refurbishing gallery spaces and public use areas, including the iconic Watermall Café.

Blok has designed, manufactured and installed a 5.3m banquette, upholstered in Elmo soft leather to complement existing furnishings.

Many thanks to Carolyne Jackson, Michael O’Sullivan and the interiors team for the opportunity to work with you again. We hope the Met show is huge success for QAG, and the banquette gets lots of use now and in the future.

In the past few months, Blok has been delighted to install a number of products at University of Qld and Griffith University.

Students and staff at UQ’s St Lucia campus are enjoying our mobis, bollos and lulus, while Griffith Uni’s Mt Gravatt and Qld Conservatorium of Music campuses are host to duo sofas, mimosa chairs and more lulu ottomans. In fact, Con students find the duo sofa so comfy it seems to be a favourite place for a nap between those Monday morning lectures… making it a bit difficult for Marni to take installation photos.

Thanks to Jan Achurch at Griffith, Elizabeth Reynolds and Kate McIlvride at UQ, Paul Jones at Design Nest and Cocoon for the orders, and we look forward to working with you again in the near future.

Brisbane-based Blok Furniture is pleased to announce some positive changes to their
Australian distribution network.

Blok is no longer represented by agents in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia and all
national sales will be handled directly by their head office.

This will assist Blok in the management of their expanding product portfolio, and allow
national clients to enjoy the same custom design services and project specific solutions
offered to their loyal Queensland client base.

Multi-purpose upholstered chair featuring lightweight construction and stainless steel base.

The Lucia has been designed as a crossover chair, suitable for reception, break out and meeting areas. The chair features lightweight construction with a stainless steel base and upholstery in your choice of fabrics. Seen here in Instyle Glide, the chairs can be viewed in person at Instyle’s Brisbane showroom until August 2009.

Details on the lucia can be found here.

The team at Smith Madden and the guys at Quadric have recently finished the 250m2 Singapore Airlines Silver Kris lounge at Brisbane International Airport, where the $340 million terminal upgrade is now complete.

Richard designed a new armchair for the lounge, featuring solid American walnut and upholstered in Quad Dapple from Kvadrat Maharam.

We received so much positive feedback on the chair, we’ve decided to include it in our range. Welcome Bellini, and thank you to Smith Madden for the opportunity to contribute to the project.

Details on the Bellini can be found here.

Russell Armstrong’s new Brisbane CBD Restaurant has been refurbed with a taste of Blok. StudioPlus provided the interior design solutions and contracted Quadric to refit the dining area, previously named ‘Felix on Felix’. Blok manufactured a smart six metre banquette which provides seating for a series of tables along the back wall of the premises. Positive reviews for the Italian inspired cuisine and prompt, pleasant service have been posted online, and we look forward to sampling Barolo’s menu in the near future. Bon Appetit!

The King is long gone, but our popular Elvi range lives on, this time at Brisbane’s new and much improved Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Cox Rayner had the huge task of designing and specifying the exterior and interior, and Blok was called upon to provide quite a few pieces of public seating for various locations, including the food court and some relaxed breakout areas. Over 20 metres of freestanding Elvi banquettes were constructed and installed in custom-length sections, along with 22 custom bar stools and a collection of Kubric ottomans, upholstered in Laine Belllabode and Woven Images Knoll Alignment.

Congratulations to the team at Cox, and thank you to the PA Hospital – we look forward to working with you again.

International management consultancy firm Evans & Peck engaged Smith Madden Brisbane to provide a contemporary office design, and were inspired by the industrial feel of a cityscape.

Blok worked in conjunction with Smith Madden to provide functional pieces for the colourful and highly textured staff breakout area.

Extended sections of curved and straight banquette seating (upholstered in Maharam Repeat Classic Stripe) provided a challenge for Blok’s upholsterer, while curved galvanised steel planter boxes with stainless steel trim were designed and constructed to fit neatly behind the banquettes.

Also installed was a custom table whose organic form extended off a kitchen island bench, plus a series of two-pack drums. The fit-out was recently featured in Trends Commercial magazine.

Nice work, Smith Madden, and we trust Evans and Peck are enjoying their new space.

Photography courtesy of Porfyri Photography.

solid spotted gum tables perfect for commercial and domestic applications – designed by tim stewart.

Designed by Brisbane architect Tim Stewart, the Interlok range is constructed from solid spotted gum, features an attractive leg detail and is available in two sized dry bars, a generous dining table and a square coffee table.

If you would like to see part of the range in person, drop into Dowse Bar downstairs at Iceworks Paddington, and pull up a stool at the Interlok dry bars. Photography by Christopher Frederick Jones.

View the Interlok product page for more info.