Couple Dave Smith and Emily Clarke downed tools in their respective careers (Smith as a furniture architect, and Clarke as a visual merchandiser and retail manager) to work full time making furniture together.
Their company, By Dave, creates custom furniture for individuals and commercial clients from a large industrial site in Footscray. It’s filled with second-hand machinery they’ve carefully purchased and maintained over time, and plenty of timber, saw machines and glue guns. It’s their creative epicentre.
“We both love objects, design and engineering,” says Smith. “We’re interested in the efficiency of materials and the correct manufacturing processes through joinery. It’s what drives our narrative, and the aesthetic in our furniture is what happens through all those processes.”
You’ll find By Dave’s minimalist chairs and benches at Carlton sake bar Leonie Upstairs. Dave and Emily used to grab coffee there, at the downstairs cafe, and they got to know the owners. They took on the venue as a commercial project in 2020 and haven’t looked back.
“Getting our start at Leonie in Carlton really symbolised a lot of things for us as a business,” says Smith. “That was our first local coffee spot and … We got involved in the design of that space and made all the chairs, tables and timber components. It’s an ideal collaboration for us. We used American rock maple and birchwood for the pieces.”
Since then they’ve designed the furniture for all-day restaurant Antara 128, created conference tables for the NGV and made various pieces for Brunswick’s Iris the Bakery.
They are sticklers for perfection – the pieces they craft are understated, chic, functional and desirable. Dabbling between domestic and commercial clients hits a sweet spot for By Dave.
“Being a contemporary designer who keeps it local really matters to us, and there’s a clientele very keen to be on that journey and support locals too,” he says.
In Footscray, it’s all hands-on deck – and noisy at times with all the machinery. Clarke is usually the one sifting through the newly arrived timbers to assess which piece works best with the fewest knots for optimal cutting.
“We bring a playfulness to what we do,” she says. “We are serious about what we do, but we know we’re not saving lives. Our pieces make us smile and we like to keep that element alive through our work.”
The couple says it has plenty in common with the hospitality scene they’ve found themselves working closely with. “We are actually similar to chefs because we all work with natural ingredients and we hone that material to get the most out of it,” says Smith. “For us, that ingredient is a piece of timber, but we get to the practical use of that material and put in our detail and craft to the final result.”
Emily says their relationship also informs their furniture design. “I am a hopeless romantic, and get caught in the romance of things and not in it for the money,” she says. “We share a full life together, there is no separation. We are best friends in what we do.”
Read more in our Studio Visit series.
