Habitus 01 was warmly welcomed in Australia and internationally, carving out a new market, one for those who appreciate good design and the stories behind it, those living in design – the design hunter.

This article first appeared in issue 01 of Habitus in 2008. For the next issue, find your nearest stockist or subscribe here.

Prolific landscape architects Daniel Baffsky, and his fashion designer partner Sarah-Jane Clarke of powerhouse sass & bide share their respective design philosophies and the inspirations behind their work.

Kirsty de Garis visited their Sydney home to find out how their creative endeavours – at opposite ends of the design spectrum – meet and flourish in their partnership.

Creative couples have been a source of fascination to us as admirers of their work, forever: the chaos that was famously the shared lives of Zelda and F. Scott Ftizgerald, for example. But it is possible for two creative spirits to get together and spur each other to greater heights of career satisfaction.

One such energetic twosome on the Aus¬tralian design scene is Sarah-Jane Clarke of sass & bide fashion powerhouse, and her husband, landscape architect Daniel Baffsky, Principal of 360^o.

The pair met four years ago at a Barry Humphries show and the connection was immedi¬ate. They have since added sons Bo, 3, and Arky, 2, to their family and in 2005, bought and renovated their home overlooking Port Jackson in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Sarah-Jane, 34, raced to international fame in 1999 when she and business partner Heidi Middleton released sass & bide’s first line of hipster jeans – famously sporting a two-inch zip. sass & bide jeans have showcased the bodies of Sarah Jessica Parker and Kylie Minogue.

“I think we were on the tip of the wave when the hipster jean trend came through and to some extent were in the right place at the right time,” she says. “I also think we have had a little bit of magic sprinkled over us,” she adds.

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Photography – Prue Ruscoe

Stylist – Heidi Moore

M Central rooftop

Bondi Park

Sydney Garden