At a time when much of global design is driven by scale, spectacle and speed, a new exhibition at Auckland’s Silo6 turns its attention to something different — and arguably more enduring: the act of making.
Taking place from 5–8 March at the waterfront’s industrial Silo6, In the Making is a curated public showcase of contemporary, material-led design from across Aotearoa. Rather than a trade fair or commercially driven showcase, it positions design as a living practice — grounded in experimentation, material sensitivity and the realities of working from a geographically distant but culturally rich place.
Curated by Clark Bardsley, the exhibition brings together an intergenerational cohort of designers and makers whose practices span furniture, lighting, textiles, ceramics and cross-disciplinary object design. What unites them is not aesthetic similarity, but an attentiveness to process — and to the character of materials themselves.
Visitors will encounter a spectrum of techniques: 3D printing and laser cutting alongside wood turning, weaving, carving and welding. It is a breadth that speaks to the evolving landscape of contemporary New Zealand design — one where advanced manufacturing and traditional craft sit comfortably side by side.
“We’re capturing a special moment in the development of New Zealand’s design identity,” Clark says. “This country has an extraordinary and often under-recognised community of designers and makers. A clear thread has emerged across the work — a spirit of ingenuity and playfulness, a rejection of convention, and a deep connection to materials shaped by our geographic isolation. Whether working with the natural and scarce, the industrial and abundant, or the discarded and recoverable, that material sensitivity defines our design culture.”
The participating designers represent both established and emerging practices, many of whom operate between Aotearoa and global design centres including London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Berlin. While maintaining international collaborations and exhibitions, they remain grounded here — designing from a place that demands resourcefulness.
Among those exhibiting are Ted Synnott Studio, Snelling Studio, Frangere, Matan Fadida, Anna Hayes Creative, Once There Was Studio, Playfolly, Gestalt Studios and Atelier Jones Design, alongside a broad cohort of makers working across ceramics, textiles, lighting and experimental materials. Together, they present a nuanced portrait of a design culture that continues to quietly punch above its weight.
Alongside the exhibition, In the Making will host a programme of private viewings, a public opening celebration, and a panel discussion and kōrero moderated by Kim Paton, offering audiences the chance to hear directly from designers about process, material thinking and the realities of contemporary practice.
In the Making includes the work of the following designers:
Anna Hayes Creative
Anna Hayes‑Moeau is a Rotorua designer and weaver integrating traditional Māori techniques, tikanga, and home‑grown native materials into contemporary forms.
Atelier Jones Design
Atelier Jones is a multidisciplinary studio crafting architecture, interiors, and furniture with a hands‑on, material‑expressive approach across all scales.
Becky Richards
Becky Richards is an Aotearoa ceramicist whose hand‑built sculptural forms evoke animated, creature‑like presences shaped through intuitive clay processes.
Clark Bardsley Design
Clark Bardsley is an Auckland designer whose multidisciplinary studio transforms curiosity, material exploration, and craft knowledge into joyful, concept‑driven objects and spaces.
Edward Fuller
Edward Fuller is an Auckland designer crafting objects and furniture defined by geometric repetition, flat‑surface manipulation, and a distinctive formal language
Gestalt Studios
Based in Auckland, Gestalt Studios is a multi-disciplinary design practice founded by Nathan Swaney and Ella Lilley-Gasteiger that navigates the intersection of architecture, interiors, and object design with a focus on restraint, refinement, and a distinctly New Zealand sensibility.
Fiona Mackay Ceramics
Fiona Mackay is a ceramicist whose design‑informed practice spans functional stoneware to sculptural works, driven by process, texture, and hand‑building techniques.
Frangere
Frangere is an Auckland studio creating sculptural, hand‑formed objects that explore fragility, transformation, and the expressive potential of material process.
Jack Hadley
Jack Hadley is a Tāmaki Makaurau artist and educator whose practice spans sculpture, jewellery, furniture, and electronics, blending decorative traditions with DIY experimentation.
Lof
Lof is a Waiheke Island studio crafting high‑performance wool lighting that connects natural materials, local production, and sculptural form.
Local Making/Hannah-Lee Jade JADE/ Alex Guthrie/ Xin Cheng/Adam Ben-Dror
Hannah‑Lee Jade Turner is a Tāmaki Makaurau textile artist exploring waste, biomaterials, and regenerative design through research‑driven material innovation.
Alex Guthrie is a Tāmaki Makaurau designer, carpenter, and craftsperson working across material‑led, hands‑on making.
Xin Cheng is a Tāmaki Makaurau artist and maker exploring everyday materials, improvisation, and resourceful forms of making.
Adam Ben‑Dror is a Tāmaki Makaurau artist, designer, and inventor working playfully and resourcefully with discarded materials.
Matan Fadida
An Auckland‑based multidisciplinary designer creating product and furniture works that merge material honesty, craft, and narrative to build a personal design world.
Nathan Goldsworthy
Goldsworthy is an Auckland‑based studio producing meticulously crafted furniture and objects defined by clarity of form, honest materials, and a commitment to enduring, local making.
Once There Was Studio
Designs and creates objects shaped by stories, experiments, and everyday observations that quietly become part of lived experience.
Playfolly
Playfolly creates architectural‑quality, modular outdoor play structures that bring longevity, sustainability, and refined design to contemporary family environments
Snelling Studio
Snelling Studio is an Aotearoa design practice creating sculptural yet functional lighting, furniture, and objects grounded in material sensitivity and contemporary craft.
Ted Synnott Studio
Ted Synnott Studio is an Auckland industrial design practice creating calm, primary‑form objects and spaces shaped by pragmatic curiosity and material clarity.
Toikipa
Leon Kipa centres Indigenous design values, creating work that honours ancestral relationships with Papatūānuku and seeks beauty, inspiration, and life‑enhancing impact.
Wonder Group
Wonder Group is an Auckland design studio creating playful, concept‑driven objects and environments that merge material experimentation with a refined, contemporary sensibility.
