For those who have been coming to Perth Upmarket for a number of years there is no way you will have made your way around the makers market without stopping at the TURNER + TURNER stall.
Their eye catching limited edition homeware timber designs simply stop you in your tracks with awe and wonder filling your senses. With an aesthetic that focuses on modern clean, simple lines their pieces truly enhance the natural beauty of Western Australian timber.
We caught up with Neil and Suellen to find out a little more about the creative team behind the TURNER +TURNER brand and find out what inspires their breathtaking work.
So who exactly are TURNER + TURNER ?
TURNER + TURNER is a collaboration between Neil and Suellen Turner which grew from their shared desire to craft functional products with minimalistic design principles.
Neil a timber craftsman for over 40 years now is internationally recognised for his fine timber sculptures and furniture. Suellen helps Neil craft, is chief photographer, social media and marketing guru.
Neil and Suellen are passionate that each piece in their range tell a story and showcase the unique features of the natural materials they use and most importantly designed to be enjoyed on a daily basis.
Can you tell our Perth Upmarket customers why you chose homewares?
We all remember our nana’s breadboard or spoon she used and loved. Marks and stains showing years of continual use.
Memories, that’s what we want to give to our customers, memories they can pass onto their children and grandchildren. Memories of wonderful kitchen smells, that cake straight out of the oven, the warm crusty bread from the oven, steaming when cut on the board with years of knife marks.
We want our products to be handed down for generations, used and loved, worn and marked full of lifetime memories! Not thrown away like plastic is. Our aim is to produce modern functional objects with clean lines, which customers can use for a lifetime then pass on.
What inspires you both to create?
Central to our creation process is allowing the material to inform the final product, whether it is the shape and grain of the timber.
Every piece reflects our careful consideration of shape, material, functionality and beauty.
Do you have a favourite piece and what is it?
Each new piece that is made!
I wish I could keep everything that is made as I love them all (Suellen). But I would have to say our natural edge bowls.
Neil has been turning them for over 40 years so he’s pretty damn good at getting them right. The technique with these is to have points on the top that your eye can join the dots, so to speak. Your eye is always looking for the top to be level and Neil orientates the burl so as to achieve this. And he turns them super thin.
When you pick up a natural edge bowl turned by him they are as light as a feather unlike the original burl. Oh and the grain of these natural edge burl bowls is divine.
Each different and spectacular telling its own story!
For those Perth Upmarket customers not familiar with TURNER + TURNER tell us a little about the range – is there something for everyone?
Our timber product range includes chopping and serving boards, spoons and spatulas, bowls and stools, cheese knives, plates and cake stands, to name a few.
So I would say yes.
Everything is made using carefully selected specialty timbers, with a focus on Western Australian timbers
What can Perth Upmarket customers expect from you at our next market?
We are very excited to be launching a new Black Range, at the November Upmarket.
Now this may sound strange when we have beautiful grain timbers here in Western Australia. But Jarrah ebonizes very well (natural process of using timbers natural tannin to turn it black using steel wool steeped in vinegar) and having a hint of black in the kitchen is very fashionable.
Everything you see in the Turner + Turner range will be available in black from bowls to spoons, boards to cheese knives, even a rolling pin.
As always Perth Upmarket customers can expect ethically sourced timber as we source from carefully selected merchants with a sustainable approach. We only select the best Perth Makers to retailer at Perth Up Market.
Quite simply, no timber is worked unless its origin is known. This ensures an ethically sound supply chain – and means everyone from forester to finisher cares enough to know where each piece once had its roots. Information we proudly passed on to every customer, with every product we make.
To find out more about TURNER + TURNER click here to pop over to their website.
If you enjoyed this Perth Upmarket blog you may also like Creative Conversations, Perth Art Upmarket , Amanda Kimberley