Words by: MAX BENGTSSON
Images by: SAM WONG
Hamish Munro is a Melbourne-based jeweller, furniture designer, artist and all-round creative. His fascination with small scale models and figurines sparked his interest in the jewellery space and his furniture pieces became an extension of that. He also owns a few goats, but we’ll get into that a bit later.
We were lucky enough to pinch some time out of Hamish Munro’s schedule to sit down (virtually) for a chat about travel influencing some of his collections, his Wool Project and how he created a feature wall in his studio using Tint paint.
Earlier in his career, Hamish spent a year in Paris enjoying the culture, the food, the wine and the architecture throughout the city. Not only did he grow personally, but also creatively by absorbing himself in how the city is put together, which heavily influenced his Orders Collection.
“I did the orders collection and that looks around the classical languages of Western architecture — specifically Paris. I was looking at all the layers and all the cornicing and each curve. It’s called a language, because each layer is built up to create something similar to that of letters in a word. That collection in Paris is still with me in what I design today.”
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“My Orders Collection was definitely a way of processing the buildings, being there and what you’re surrounded in at the time.”
His project using Tint paint was also inspired by travel—this time from the other side of the world in Vietnam. Hamish recalls seeing this beautiful wall that had pieces of rock sporadically sticking out of it, which created an eye-catching texture.
So he decided to create his own version of it in his studio space as a feature wall. He describes it like “a rock climbing wall or a prickly pear or even ostrich skin.”
There was quite a bit of trial and error when it came to the colour of the wall with a few different grey attempts. Each time he decided to go lighter and lighter until he hit the perfect hue: our ‘Head In The Clouds’.
He describes it as:
“a soft and light grey with dark qualities to it. The shadows from the rocks give more variation on the colour and the morning light gives it more personality.”
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“When I was up the ladder finishing the last pieces, I was definitely holding on to a few of the rocks, just like a rock climbing wall [laughs].”
Then there’s the animals. Hamish has this amazing project on the go called the Wool Project.
It started off by rescuing a black sheep, because the wool industry is usually after white sheep as their hair is easier to dye. He began giving the sheep a personality on Instagram so people could get to know it.
When the wool was sheared, a designer used it to create something beautiful.
“The project started because I wanted people to follow the lives of the sheep and get to know them. And by the time that they’re feeling and holding one of the garments that’s been produced, that piece means so much more than just the fibres.
It wasn’t about focusing on wool itself or how it’s spun, dyed and knitted, it’s more about the animals and getting to know them.”
Since then, he’s adopted a few more sheep and even a couple of goats who produce mohair — Audrey and Angus.
If you want to get in on the Wool Project, follow on Instagram:
@wool.loow — https://www.instagram.com/wool.loow/
See Audrey and Angus live their best lives.
Follow Hamish:
@hamish.munro — https://www.instagram.com/hamish.munro/
hamishmunro.com — https://hamishmunro.com/
We hope you enjoyed another part in the Colourful Language series—catch you next time!
