Adam Lynch & Dale Hardiman from Dowel Jones
Melbourne-based designers Adam Lynch & Dale Hardiman from Dowel Jones created their dream job back in 2012 - 10 years later they’re still going strong, driven by a desire to keep pushing their design language to higher levels.
Photography: Cricket Studio, Lillie Thompson & Jess Kneebone
Adam Lynch and Dale Hardiman from Dowel Jones. Photo: Lillie Thompson
Big Friendly Single armchair from Dowel Jones. Photo: Cricket Studio
TBC1 Chair from Dowel Jones. Photo: Cricket Studio
The Fancy Foldy collection reimagined by Acid Flwrs from Dowel Jones. Photo: Cricket Studio
‘The way we treat Dowel Jones is more like an expression of our personalities and interests, rather than separating the company from who we are. I believe this has been one of our great strengths,’ says Dale Hardiman. Pictured: Sister Double sofa from Dowel Jones. Photo: Cricket Studio
H&F: Hi Dale, when did the idea first come about to start Dowel Jones - was there a lightbulb moment?
Dale: Funnily enough, the lightbulb moment we had in 3rd year of university was when we found out there weren't many job opportunities for what we wanted to do. The industry is a lot different now than it was in 2012, in that there weren't nearly as many small design businesses to work with. We naively began producing under Dowel Jones to hopefully create jobs we wanted to do, and we're still here!
Do you have a disciplined studio routine and any rituals to help keep you focused?
We've always worked from separate cities, so distance could be something that helps keep us focused as we always have to keep ourselves accountable. Years ago we talked about trying to keep work only within business hours to ensure we had personal lives, as to make certain we both had longevity in the business. I would say the way I now procrastinate is to interact more with the people on our social media channels. Without seeing the threads we run, it probably won't make much sense, but we choose different themes to cover week by week. In recent times, we've run threads on figs, ants, and biscuits (Arnotts even got in contact), with our longest-running thread being Mundane Monday (where we ask people to share photos of anything mundane on the day).
What are each of your roles in the business?
We've always had relatively separate roles within the business directed towards each of our strengths: Adam has always been involved in manufacturing and production, and I've always been involved in everything else not related to manufacturing.
As a designer, what’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way?
Not so much as a designer, but as a person: ‘You already know everything you know.’ – this applies more generally to life in that the other person you're speaking to is always going to be more interesting, as everything you're saying you already know.
Do you have a favourite material to work with?
I wouldn't say we had a specific favorite material to work with, rather we work with materials that are feasible to be produced in Australia. Over the last 4 years, we've been exploring upholstered pieces more and more, as it's allowed for much more fluid expressions in form, and it helps that we have an incredible upholstery team.
How would you describe your personal aesthetic - does it cross over in your work?
Absolutely. The way we treat Dowel Jones is more like an expression of our personalities and interests, rather than separating the company from who we are. I believe this has been one of our great strengths. This is exactly why I manage our social media accounts, to ensure the voice we give to the company is authentically ours. Both of our houses are full of colourful furniture and artworks, much like the way we present Dowel Jones.
Full Hurdle Chair from Dowel Jones. Photo: Cricket Studio
The Fancy Foldy collection reimagined by Acid Flwrs from Dowel Jones. Photo: Cricket Studio
Simon Says Stools from Dowel Jones. Photo: Jess Kneebone
Sister Chair from Dowel Jones. Photo: Cricket Studio
Did you always think you’d be a designer?
I think we've both come from backgrounds that have led us to become designers, but it wasn't what we expected to end up doing. Adam was always interested in how things were made, and so furniture made perfect sense. I was interested in sculpture and saw furniture as a typology to explore that provided a physical function.
Where do you look for inspiration?
Over the years we like to think we've developed our own design language within the company, so we're forever pushing and pulling that language to create new works. Earlier inspiration for us was quite literal: our Thimble stool was inspired by seeing people at the waterfront sitting on concrete bollards as stools, and our Hurdle collection was inspired by athletic hurdles. For us visiting factories and talking to local manufacturer has always provided the best results. For instance we developed our Foldy and Flower Foldy Table because one of our suppliers mentioned in passing that they could bend sheet aluminium.
What advice can you share with someone who aspires to be a designer?
We hope we offer this kind of advice regularly through our social media channels, as we try and be as open as possible to the public. Creativity can live in silos, but we believe it thrives in communities. During the lockdowns in Melbourne we created a program called ‘ONE-ON-ONE’ where anyone could put themself forward, and every fortnight we’d dedicate an hour to speaking to that person on video call where they could ask us anything.
Is this your dream job?
What Dowel Jones has allowed us both over the last few years is an opportunity to explore what we think has purpose, and is also potentially unexpected. The dream for any creative is to act on their creative impulses and be financially sustainable, and I believe we're able to do this.
What drives you as a designer to keep exploring new ideas?
I think collaboration is a big part of our drive, entering into new partnerships with creatives. The development of collaborations is the most enjoyable, and in the end, if we come up with something successful or not, we always have that great experience working together.
What’s in store for you for the remainder of this year?
After the successful launch of our first limited edition collection with Acid Flwrs earlier this month (selling out in 1 day), we'll be releasing a limited edition collection of clothing hopefully around October. Over the last 2 years, we've had a huge number of requests from people wanting to be able to identify with Dowel Jones outside of furniture within their homes. Once we found an Australian clothing manufacturer we knew it was possible! We've also been working with Gelato Messina over the last few months on a secret project which will launch later in the year.