Simone LeAmon

Melbourne Design Fair returns for a four-day event this month to spotlight contemporary and 20th-century collectible design by leading Australian and international designers. Running from May 18 until May 21 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Fair will feature everything from cutting-edge furniture design to unique objects and jewellery.  In 2023, the Fair will also debut a NGV-curated section titled Discovery, dedicated to the promotion and sale of work by emerging designers and makers. Another NGV-curated highlight is Focus, which brings attention to the work of five accomplished Australian female designers and makers. With more than 150 designers to see, curator Simone LeAmon has cut through the noise and cherry-picked her highlights of the 2023 Melbourne Design Fair. Undiscovered Talent  Studio Tops combines technical knowledge of glass, steel and leatherwork to create sculptural and architectural furniture and lighting. Founded by Melbourne artist and maker Simone Tops in 2014, the studio creates works designed to be companions for life. Tops' lights are exquisite with a punk-like sensibility. Numbulwar Numburindi Arts was established in 2019. The community is located at the mouth of the Rose River on the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria in east Arnhem Land and belongs to the Nunggayinbala clan. Numbulwar Numburindi Artists combine naturally dyed and locally harvested pandanus with bright and bold ghost nets, abandoned fishing line retrieved from Numb