This project is featured as part of the D5 Digital Design Week: AI & Sustainability. To learn more, click here.
The Clip Chair by Bryan Micallef Studio is a stunning example of industrial ingenuity and artisanal craftsmanship. Based in Geelong, Australia, Bryan Micallef brings his creative energy from a successful advertising career into furniture design. Having honed his skills at the Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking and the Victorian Woodworkers Association, Micallef has developed a unique approach that blends sustainability with innovative design. His work often explores materiality, transforming everyday materials in unexpected ways—making the inflexible flex, the straight bend, and the heavy float. This philosophy challenges traditional design and encourages audiences to engage with his pieces deeply.
The Clip Chair perfectly reflects this approach. Inspired by the simplicity of the paperclip, the chair is crafted from sustainably sourced Tasmanian Blackwood, a wood known for its beauty and sustainability. The frame is carefully steam-bent and kiln-dried, allowing the once-straight wood to take on a fluid, organic shape. This process highlights the material’s malleability and the skill required to shape it into its final form.
The chair’s design may appear minimalist, but the hidden complexity makes it stand out. The cherry wood seat, joined with dovetail rails, fits perfectly into the frame. This point of craftsmanship is crucial to the chair’s overall aesthetic and structure. It is a piece that, at first glance, might seem simple, but closer inspection reveals the precision and care that went into every detail.
Micallef’s work has earned recognition at prestigious events such as Paris Design Week, Denfair, and Furnitext Brisbane. A selection of his pieces, including the Clip Chair, are on permanent display at the Make Mate studio in Newtown, Victoria, where visitors can experience firsthand the thoughtful design and sustainable materials that define his work.
“The Clip Chair is a paradox: a piece of furniture that is both incredibly simple yet incredibly complex. It is a testament to the power of design to elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.”
Photography by Elise Scott.
Bryan Micallef Studio is a Geelong based design studio specialising in furniture and objects.
