Tom Skeehan of SKEEHAN Studio brings forward a commercial range for Stylecraft Furniture exploring the material narrative within Australian manufacturing.

With a heavy focus on creating contemporary furniture that is versatile and adaptable between commercial and residential settings, SKEEHAN Studio creates the Nave Collection. The ethos of the multidisciplinary design practice is heavily concentrated on celebrating materials and its contribution to the process of design – creating intelligent solutions for an individual’s relationship with the everyday.

Through ample amounts of consideration towards the Australian manufacturing industry, Nave explores the narrative of a collection that is heavily material-driven with a range of customisable features that establishes a unique design language for the brand. Tom Skeehan, director and industrial designer of SKEEHAN Studio, shares: “Inspiration initially was from traditional architectural drawings of churches and timber-framed boats. Analysing the construction methods and engineering to build an incredibly efficient durable form. Exploring the minimum structure required to support the upholstery treatments and linking the frame together with a continual silhouette.”

A unique combination of material and textiles is demonstrated through the design of the Nave Collection. By creating a form that is largely invested in the honesty of human interaction, SKEEHAN Studio designed a naked minimal frame that celebrates the composition of steel and tensioned fabric upholstery, while also allowing flexibility in a slender form. The complexity of the investigation is shown through its distinctive language, detail and composition. Tom Skeehan shares that a personal favourite element within the collection is the upholstery treatment for the arms. “The method for attaching the arm covers required a lot of development, these details helped push the work to find its own material language and link the overall collection,” says Skeehan.

Beyond the chic and sleek contemporary design, Nave offers a heightened experience and depth in the production and construction of the collection. Through its minimalistic presentation, Nave exhibits a language that celebrates the process, investigation and detailing that architects and designers will appreciate. Tom Skeehan shares, “Nave is developed around minimal construction methods and refined detailing – each product references the next. The construction method and details are continued through each product. This envelope easily allows for multiple variations and upholstery treatments while maintaining a clean material driven design language.”

The extensive collection, available only at Stylecraft, offers the armchair, tall lounge, ottoman and the original Nave lounge.