Saturday Indesign is a day of talks, partying, experiences and of course new ideas in the form of exhibitions and installations. The emphasis on interactivity and hands-on experiences went up several gears in 2026, built around a longstanding highlight of Saturday Indesign – The Project. Each year, exhibitors are invited to participate in and host installations that respond to a theme or prompt.
This year, that catalyst was the theme of ‘Alchemy’ as participants were encouraged to explore transformation not only of materials, but of ideas, processes and perspectives too. As the competition brief stated, “alchemy is about making change visible and turning the familiar into something extraordinary.”
Talostone’s winning installation, created in collaboration with the Whitehouse Institute of Design, certainly responded to the prompt as they took the familiarity of stone and turned it into something different and surprising.
It was incredibly inspiring to see the quality and diverse range of creative concepts the students came up with in response to the theme of Alchemy,” says Talostone showroom manager, Karen Harris. “The detail, quality and creativity of the work was next level! There were close to 30 students who submitted their design proposals, all really amazing and high quality proposals. We loved seeing our product reimagined in fresh ways!”
Katrina Skinner, head teacher at Whitehouse, says that “Alchemy was a great theme, especially with stone… We sought to change the nature of stone, while still keeping the lovely veining and patterns – we explored the ‘opposite’ characteristics of stone: heavy versus light, opaque versus transparent, hard/solid versus soft/squashy, smooth versus fluffy, grand versus playful, constructed versus deconstructed.”
Skinner continues: “The element of surprise was critical! We explored scale change through floor-to-ceiling decals of the marble fashion looks; built lightweight walls with multi-print packaging boxes capped with existing stone samples; recontextualised classical marble statues as printed collages and fragmented/rebuilt sculptures; and explored an array of upcycled, recycled, reusable and sustainable materials in the giant printed pebble cushions, fashion garments, boxes and sculptures.”
The collaboration itself goes to the heart of what Saturday Indesign is all about. It brought together a showroom exhibitor opening their doors for the day as well as students, all with a view towards creating an engaging spectacle as a point of focus for the day.
“From an education perspective,” explains Skinner, “Saturday Indesign helps students bridge the gap between study and industry, meeting industry, communicating through The Project, then seeing how the whole day is run. They loved being involved in this project, even though at times they found it hard, but it was so rewarding for them to see everything installed at Talostone and have it full of visitors all day. They felt proud of their work.
“Special congratulations to second-year Creative Direction student James Watts, who led the team with an excellent creative direction during the project, and also to the five first-year fashion students who rose to the challenge of creating two original fashion looks inspired by Talostone.”
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As for how the collaboration with Whitehouse arose in the first place, Harris recalls learning in initial discussions with the Saturday Indesign team that Whitehouse were keen to collaborate with a company: “This really struck a chord with me, as I had myself studied Interior Design at the Whitehouse… I entered three design competitions with them during my studies and won all three, so I was familiar with the process and the creative opportunities it can bring for a company collaborating with the next generation of young designers.
“Talostone are always eager to support the design community and the next generation of designers, so I knew this would be a good fit,” concludes Harris.
Saturday Indesign
saturdayindesign.com
Talostone
talostone.com.au
Whitehouse Institute of Design
whitehouse-design.edu.au
