Could you tell us a bit about Coco Flip. How did you get started and how has it evolved into what it is today?
Coco Flip is a furniture and lighting brand that I started in 2010. We design character-filled products that bring personality and warmth to spaces worldwide. The business was born from a desire to create an independent career for myself in design after studying industrial design at university back in Western Australia. I wanted to work alongside local makers and highlight their incredible skills and craftsmanship through contemporary design. I’m drawn to simple forms and soft curves that are balanced and have a human quality to them. Our ideas always start with a mood or tone that we want to try to imbue a product with.
The business has grown slowly and organically over the years and while a lot has changed, it’s still a very personal project. We’re always trying to strike that balance between it being a creative practice and a viable business. Fortunately, I enjoy both sides of the equation and love it most days.
You run Coco Flip alongside your husband Haslett. The pair of you make a great team in business and in life! How do you define your different roles within the business?
Haslett’s background is in architecture, and we have very different skills that seem to complement each other quite naturally. He’s much more technically minded than me and focusses on the production and product development side of things. He’s also one of those people who is generally very capable and has an incredible can-do attitude, so we joke about his official title being Yes-Man. On the other hand, I take more of an interest in the business side of things, creative direction, and marketing. We’re lucky that it works for us and enables a great deal of flexibility in our family life and parenting.
You live in a wonderful home in Eltham. Tell us about the house, how long you have lived there, and how you have made it your own.
We live in a mid-century home designed by Alistair Knox in leafy Eltham that we purchased in 2017. Haslett and I had been living in Melbourne’s inner north for a decade and moving to the suburbs wasn’t part of our plan, but we fell in love with the home and subsequently the area. We love being surrounded by the bush, having access to the Yarra, and still being able to pop into the centre of Melbourne in 30 minutes. The house has such a warm feeling and holds so much history. We haven’t made a lot of changes inside, but we’ve spent a lot of time landscaping and planting a native garden, adding solar, and most importantly putting in an outdoor tub to soak under the stars. Every room is scattered with our own furniture and lighting designs, the kid’s art and craft, and objects we’ve slowly collected throughout our relationship and travels. It feels very much like home and we’re grateful to be its custodians.
What was the first piece of art you ever bought?
The first meaningful artwork we purchased together is by Joel Wynn Rees from his exhibition Boabs and Boondies at Tinning Street in 2012. It’s a still life photograph of a pig melon on a hot pink backdrop. I still remember seeing it at the opening and loving it. Our eldest daughter has it in her room at the moment and loves it too.
Could you tell us about a few of your favourite pieces in your art collection?
We have a few pieces by New Zealand artist Mark Alsweiler. I love his use of colour and the way he creates little worlds through human forms and architecture. I think I’m often drawn to pieces that are quite graphic and playful like Gareth Owen’s painting ‘What Nelson Sees at the Pub’ and Kane Lehanneur’s ‘Flower Bed 46’. Many of my favourites were gifted to us by friends and family—an incredible weaving by WA artist Hanne Ibach, who collects the rope from her walks along the coast. A beautiful Tiwi Island carved owl. A wonderful still life painting by my dear friend and artist Charlotte Swiden, and photographs by Cathy Marshall who used to work with us.
You recently went to Milan for design week. What were some of the highlights, and how has the trip inspired you?
Yes, this trip was such a treat for me. It was incredible to go back to Milan and think about how much has happened since I was last there 18 years ago. The days were full, but it felt like such a luxury to travel alone without children in tow. A major highlight was visiting Fondazione Prada—the architecture and art both blew me away. The Design Week event that will stay with me a long time is Alcova which was housed in two exquisite villas a little way out of town and featured designers from around the world. I also loved seeing Interni Venosta’s debut collection which was exhibited inside a plaster sculptor’s workshop and Melbourne’s own Volker Haug and David Flack collaboration titled ‘Me and You’. I came home feeling very satiated and invigorated.
