This Saturday from 9am to 1pm, interior designer Tim Neve will open up his warehouse at 8 Harris Street, Maryville, and show off his first-ever range of furniture to the buying public.
Neve is a nationally-known interior stylist based in Newcastle. He also teaches interior design.
"Like I tell my students, people think everything happens overnight, but it's been 20 years in the making," he says. "I've worked for myself in design for 20 years. I think it's all a logical progression."
His "début furniture collection" features organic-shaped statement pieces in warm and tactile elements like rattan, teak and travertine. The range is handcrafted by artisans from quality materials in limited quantities in a single factory in Indonesia.
The range includes wood and travertine tables, travertine dining table, day bed, chair, buffet, console, armchair, bedhead and sofa.
The travertine tops feature a distinct chiselled edge. "It's perfect, exactly what I wanted," he says of the chiselled edge, which is not rough or sharp to touch. "It's all created by hand."
"Each piece is designed to work as statement pieces, or even stronger when placed together," Neve says.
Two years ago Neve launched his own brand of textile products. Now, they are hitting their stride, and he's looking to export to the US later this year. The textiles for his range of cushions, throws and pillowcases are custom printed in Melbourne. The Tim Neve brand uses all natural fibers, 100 per cent linen, with four colourways in each of 10 designs (a total of 40 product choices).
His move into furniture design was organic for his business.
"At the start of 2021 I was selling other people's furniture. It was a little silver lining of lockdown: everyone was at home wanting to renovate, revamp, redecorate. Everybody in the interiors industry had a nice little run there," he says. "I was sending off furniture all around Australia from here, but it was other people's designs. They were Australian designs, most of it made offshore."
But he had enough confidence in his own ability, and was frustrated with the long lead time for supply of product. Although it's early days, Neve is aiming for a lead time from order to delivery of 12-16 weeks for his lines.
"I thought I'm just going to cut out the middle man and hopefully my process will be quicker, and so far it has been," he says.
At his first retail trade show in Sydney in April, he took more orders in the first morning than he was expecting over the whole weekend.
His line is particularly popular in coastal areas, the further north you go the more popular it is. Like North Queensland, Noosa, Gold Coast and Byron Bay.
"I've gone for the bold sculptural, as you can see," Neve says. "It's kind of a a new wave of style that I think is coming through. It goes hand in hand with the materials and quality."
Neve doesn't blink that it might be considered modern Balinese, as he notes "everything we are working with is natural".
It's also very coastal Australian, which has always been Neve's strength as a designer.
"I love the beach, summer, natural. So it's really talking to that," he says of the furniture range.
Three of his products in particular have become hot property:
#1 Sculptural side table. There are two versions, one in natural teak wood base, the other a white teak version. The table top features a chiselled edge on the travertine top. Travertine is a natural limestone. The raw materials are sourced in Indonesia by the manufacturer.
#2 The arch chair. Neve says it works because of "the balance of all the material - the linen, the leather strapping under, the teak and the rattan inserts. And the cushions. It's really comfy, kinds of hugs your bum. It's so sculptural, you'd think it wasn't ergonomic in any way, shape or form, but yes, it's really comfortable."
#3 Sculptural coffee table. "It's almost like a work of art," Neve says. "Similar trendy styles with high price point made of stone, cost upwards of $5000. I've kept my margins lower, so it's $2200 for that one - retail."
