Melbourne Repurposed Furniture Designer, Custom Industrial, Offers Five Things to Consider When Buying Unique Handmade Furniture

With so many competing craftsman and artists in a trending unique handmade furniture industry, sometimes it can be confusing or frustrating to know exactly what to look for and who to trust. Investment into bespoke and unusual furniture can be costly at times, to ensure a ‘one off’ piece is purchased, or to have furniture custom built for a specific reason or purpose. But people are commonly left disappointed because of a lack of guidance or knowledge before the ordering or buying decision is made.

Melbourne repurposed furniture designer and founder of Custom Industrial – a specialist Melbourne based furniture and lighting design company – Durwin Lambe provides six tips to buyers looking to purchase their first piece of bespoke or unique handmade furniture.

1.         Research your maker.
With any significant furniture purchase, it’s always wise to research the designer, the same as any person would a car or a house. “It’s important to do your homework to get the best results, especially when it’s ultimately something that is made by hand, commissioned by you and made to your specifications,” says Durwin. “Let’s be honest, not everyone likes the same style; that’s probably why you’re looking for something bespoke in the first place. However, if you are having trouble knowing who does what or who is best for your project, most makers are fairly approachable and will happily refer you to someone if their work isn’t quite what you’re after.”

2.         Understand what a bespoke piece of furniture is.
A bespoke piece of furniture is handmade and designed, and requires many invested hours by the craftsperson to complete the project. It’s usually commissioned to a particular specification, and is altered or tailored to the customs, tastes or usage of an individual purchaser. This means it will also be one of a kind, or one of very few.

Therefore a custom piece is not usually something that can be purchased cheaply, when compared to the price of mass-produced items. “For me, commissioning a bespoke designer to create an individualised piece of furniture also means you’re investing in that person, and trusting that they will deliver something greater than what you were expecting; that’s what makes it most rewarding for me,” says Durwin. “Bespoke furniture always becomes the talking point, and a family heirloom. Unique handmade furniture adds soul to a home, which cannot be replicated by cheap, mass produced, flat-packed furniture.”

3.         Don’t limit any options.
“A craftsman is an artist, and if you trust the process and their instinct, they will often bring something more to the design that you would never expect; it may be left of field and may be a challenge to understand at first, however it’s their interpretation that will more than likely make it bespoke,” says Durwin.

Durwin urges new buyers to “take advantage of the skillset of your maker” and give them a creative licence. “The most common remark I hear from my clients is, ‘I would never have thought to do that, lucky I trusted you’,” says Durwin.

4.         Be prepared to invest in time.
In this current day and age, everyone lives in a ‘have it now’ society, where having to wait for something was what happened before the internet. As the saying goes, ‘quality takes time’. This is also true when it comes to creating bespoke furniture; designing and creating handmade items take time – at least more time than it does to tap credit card details into the keyboard and buy something online that is mass-produced.

“As a creative person and designer of Melbourne repurposed furniture I don’t usually switch off the ‘ideas centre’ in my brain. I cannot control when inspiration strikes, however I have disciplined myself to take action when it does. Whether in the form of writing down the idea, sketching it or just heading to the workshop and making it happen,” says Durwin. “Quite often I need to sit with items or pieces I’m repurposing to take in all the details to help form the inspiration. With this in mind, be prepared to invest in time with your bespoke artisan; it will ensure that your item is well made and delivered to the standard you’d expect from a true craftsperson.”

5.         Remember that the piece will be handmade and one of a kind.
Durwin says, “Handmade means no computerised machines, no production lines and no short cuts. It means blood, sweat, tears and soul have gone into the creative production of the bespoke furniture. People will find that most craftspeople become emotionally attached to their creations, much like a parent with a child. They see the item evolve and grow then eventually leave their workshop for your home. When buying handmade, people buy a story and a piece of history, something to be proud of.”

To discover more about Durwin Lambe, his unique designs and eco-friendly products and furniture pieces, visit the Melbourne-based Custom Industrial’s website at www.customindustrial.com.au.

 
About Custom Industrial

Custom Industrial is a unique furniture and lighting design company specialising in the re-purposing of old machinery, parts and unusual items into exclusive pieces. Everything Custom Industrial creates is individual, using timeless craftsmanship. Their products are made to last using the best measure of both time-honoured techniques blended with modern day efficiencies.

The business was born from a love of the unique and interesting, and influenced by the founder’s family history working in and around the wharves, surrounded by patina worn, heavy industrial machinery. Combining this with skills gained in the building and timber industries, a passion was fuelled for turning the unusual and unique into custom pieces of furniture and lighting that captured the feeling of those childhood memories.

Contact Information

Durwin Lambe

Founder

Custom Industrial

(61) 438 805 522

durwin@customindustrial.com.au