Melbourne furniture maker Jardan has put down permanent roots in Perth, with its third interstate flagship (following openings in Sydney and Brisbane) launching in Peppermint Grove last month.

Housed in a historic, thoughtfully adapted sandstone building where Stirling Highway and Jarrad Street meet, the new store combines a little bit of Melbourne with a lot of WA.

“The store really is its own story, put together from the ground up,” says co-director Nick Garnham, who runs the business with his wife and creative manager, Renee Garnham, and his brother, Michael. “WA is such a unique part of Australia – all those big open spaces. I’ve been surfing down in Margaret River – everything’s greener, the ocean’s bluer, the sharks are bigger, the big yards are bigger. The store had to respond to that.

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“And we love the fact that [the store is] one kilometre from the ocean and 500 metres from the Swan River. It just feels like such an iconic place to be in Perth.”

Director of IF Architecture, Iva Foschia, who has worked with the Garnhams on all their stores, says inspiration for the Perth flagship was drawn from the colours and romance of WA’s wildflower season.

“Wildflowers coming out of this barren, dry landscape each year at the same time, these beautiful colours, multiplying – we really wanted to tell that story,” she says.

“So we’ve got this kind of monochromatic landscape in our flooring, and then journeying through the space you’ve got these beautiful bold patches of colour – sort of like how the wildflowers happen: if you’re travelling by highway, you’ve got these patches that just appear. The rest of the landscape is then the story of the Jardan product, which blends into lifestyle and living and beautiful design.”

A warm wildflower palette greets customers on entry, with terrazzo floors the foundation for layers of mauve, rusty sand, dusty pink and chartreuse – all referencing desert flora, leaves and landscapes. Filling the space is a curated selection of the brand’s handcrafted, modernist-inspired pieces – low-slung modular sofas, textured armchairs and sleek, contemporary tables, plus lighting, homewares and rugs.

Nick says the store’s design also speaks to Jardan’s ethos of keeping things sustainable and local. “We love being local, it avoids all those difficulties and the carbon footprint that come with working overseas,” says Nick. “Being able to supply Australia really suits our brand; we’re set up for it, we understand it, it’s our backyard. That’s deeply ingrained in who we are and what we do.”

A family-owned and run company since 1987, Jardan’s entire range is designed, tested and handcrafted in Melbourne, with sustainability at the centre of their work. This starts from sourcing the right materials, to minimising waste and energy consumption (they’ve fitted the Perth store with solar panels), right down to total “product stewardship”, which means Jardan will accept the return of products that have reached the end of their life and recycle them. For the Garnhams, this is all just part of good design.

“We’re inspired by original, Australian-made design – things that are designed for the way we live and are going to last a lifetime,” Nick says. “We’re a relaxed, humble country, but we also need furniture that’s really robust, and because of that we’re developing a really unique design sensibility. You can look at furniture from Australia now and it doesn’t look European, it doesn’t look North American – it’s got its own story, its own sense of place. Just like our landscape.”

Pieces are selected with Perth and wider Western Australian climates and lifestyles in mind, but offer a taste of Melbourne as well. The company also works with local artists and makers to stock wares and art that complement the furniture, but localise the brand.

“Once the store’s established, we’ll start tapping into that creative community in Perth – we always start looking for who’s around, who’s a maker, who’s an artist,” says Renee. “I love bringing that into each store, making it a bit more local. But we want to grab from great people all around the world and bring [their work] here, too.”

The pair also hopes the space will be seen as a place for people to come together, and, as with their other stores, intends for it to be used as an event space.

“We’ve designed it so we can host events; we want to be part of the community,” says Renee. “WA is this whole huge part of Australia, and we are just so excited to be here.”

Jardan Furniture
488 Stirling Highway, Peppermint Grove
Hours:
Mon to Fri 9am–5pm
Sat & Sun 10am–5pm

jardan.com.au