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Issue 59 - The Life Outside Issue

Issue 59

The Life Outside Issue

Introducing the Life Outside issue of Habitus magazine. With life increasingly being absorbed into a digital space, there is never a more important moment to hold something tangible. In this context, the power of nature to have a physiological impact on our sense of wellbeing has never been more important. So how can we cultivate the benefits of the our natural environment in the most intimate of places – our homes? This was the question that helped to bring this issue of Habitus to life.

A Product of

The allure of Alor
Design StoriesJan Henderson

The allure of Alor

Australian designed, affordable and looking oh so good, Assemble has been launched and lovers of good design are the winners.


While designer furniture is, above all else, highly desirable, the price tag is often out of reach for many lovers of good design. Understanding that a furniture collection, which is within financial reach and aesthetically pleasing can be for everyone, Alor has found its niche and designers and architects, as well as the general public, will have less to pay to acquire a genuine designer object.  

Alor is a Melbourne-based design studio conceiving and creating furniture that is both beautiful and affordable. With its first range, Assemble, designed by James Walsh, Alor presents a collection that includes a dining chair and table, bench seating, bar stool, side table and coffee table, all styled and finished to the highest standard.

“Alor was born out of our frustration with the current furniture landscape. Designer furniture is cost prohibitive to many, while fast furniture lacks quality and meaning and often ends up at the landfill after a few years,” says Walsh of Alor. “We saw an opportunity to create a brand that marries the best of both worlds – high-quality, enduring furniture at an affordable price point.”

The idea of the name Assemble is the bringing together of family and friends to do just that, assemble! Creating a family of products that can enhance the home, or even the office, Alor strikes at the very heart of where good design is needed most.

This first range from Alor has come to life through a partnership with designer James Walsh with a goal to continually expand and collaborate with other creatives. For each new range or product brought to market, the aim is to fully immerse the creative in the product design process by involving them in not only the concept and end design but also the manufacture and even the photography. This immersive environment will certainly promote collaboration, which will, in turn, translate to unique and more personal design outcomes.

Walsh is well qualified in the ways of designing well. As a Melbourne-based industrial designer he has a passion for material and process experimentation. He has also worked in various areas of design developing products for the commercial furniture and lighting industry for many leading Australian companies. He has received multiple accolades among them winner of the 2020 Australian Furniture Design Awards and was shortlisted in the Tasmanian Clarence Prize Awards in 2021. He regularly exhibits his work, lately at the Melbourne Design Fair in 2023 and Melbourne Design Week in 2022 among many other events.

By championing affordability Alor and Assemble can offer lovers of design the delight of owning thoughtfully crafted designer furniture that will stand the test of time. Design does matter and Alor, through Assemble, is ready to set a new benchmark for Australian furniture.

Alor Studio
alor.studio

Photography
Matthew McQuiggan


About the Author

Jan Henderson

Jan Henderson is currently an Editor and Program Director of the INDE.Awards at Indesign Media Asia Pacific. Her previous roles have included Acting-editor of Indesign magazine, Associate Publisher at Architecture Media, Editor and Co-editor of inside magazine and Interiors Editor of Architel.tv. As Principal of Henderson Media Consultants she contributes to various architecture and design magazines, is a regular speaker at events and has participated as a juror for industry awards. Jan is passionate about design and through her different roles supports and contributes to design in Australia.

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AlorAssembleaustralian designfurniturefurniture designfurniture designerJames Walsh


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Issue 59 - The Life Outside Issue

Issue 59

The Life Outside Issue

Introducing the Life Outside issue of Habitus magazine. With life increasingly being absorbed into a digital space, there is never a more important moment to hold something tangible. In this context, the power of nature to have a physiological impact on our sense of wellbeing has never been more important. So how can we cultivate the benefits of the our natural environment in the most intimate of places – our homes? This was the question that helped to bring this issue of Habitus to life.

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