Capra Designs
“I believe we design beautiful objects that make you happy when you see them, without following trends. We try to reinvent simple objects such as plant pots or trays to elevate them and give them a new role to play at home: they are not only functional, they deserve to be seen.”
Capra Designs
by Bianca Lambert & Tom Wilson
Bianca Lambert
Tom Wilson
Capra Designs
Capra Designs is an Australian design studio that specialises in the artful conception of beautifully refined pots and stands. Born out of the love and collection of plants, Melbourne couple Bianca Lambert and Thomas Wilson have cultivated their joint passion for contemporary, mindful design constructed with exceptional craftsmanship to create a number of unique collections of plant centred home accessories.
Beginnings
Capra Designs was established in 2015 after Bianca and Tom saw the birth of their first born son Banjo as a catalyst to lead by example and materialise their passion of articulate homeware design. The duo combined their joint talents of Thomas’ carpentry background and expertise in luxury houses with high-end modern finishes alongside Bianca’s experience as an arts marketer and an avid hands-on maker.
"Tom and I have always spent our spare time creating things together and making pots and plant stands was just one of those projects. I taught myself how to create moulds, mix pigments to create unique colours and pour resin to design patterns. In the meantime Tom was experimenting with his newest tool, his welder. This went on for over a year.”
- Bianca Lambert, Co-founder of Capra Designs
From the birth of Banjo to the birth of Capra Designs one month later, the duo have been kept busy experimenting and releasing new collections, growing their team and also expanding their label internationally to the USA.
Design Philosophy
The fundamental design ethos of Capra Designs is the value of ‘thoughtful design, high quality workmanship and originality’. Each collection is a refreshing spin on the classic pot plant and draws inspiration from modernist architecture, elements of the Californian desert and unique experimental processes to name a few.
It is evident that Bianca has a keen eye for colour with the colour stories of each collection unparalleled with rich earthy desert derived hues, clean and neutral stone tones to fun terrazzo patterning.
‘Colour is really important for us and we take time to develop a coherent colour palette for each new collection. Sometimes, we launch a capsule collection where a small range of our customer’s favourite products is available in a new colour or two. We love the idea that our customers can collect our pots and add a new colour to their collection every now and then.’
In conjunction with the visual choices of colour, Tom’s craftsmanship shows in the functional formations of each piece with clean lines, shapes and refined simplicity. The versatile nature of Capra Designs home accessories means that they function hand in hand with plants in your home as stand alone statement pieces or even as a cohesive series.
Process
The design process at Capra begins with some sketches in a notebook to define a shape or a new product. Bianca uses Pinterest to find inspirational images that she uses to save textures or formations that start the ball rolling on new designs. From there, Bianca and Tom do several meetings with Juliette [Capra Designs staff member and collaborator], to share ideas and compare drawings. Juliette would then have the task to make several 3D models to find the best measures and proportions. Bianca states that doing objects in 3D also helps to see the collection as a whole which is an important process in their cohesive themes. The last stretch once the technical drawings are ready is for Capra to work with their manufacturer to create the first samples and potentially modify or even abandon a design.
Collaboration
Collaboration has been a reoccurring concept within the brand. Their newest collection Sol launched just this year designed in partnership with architectural graduate, Juliette Gambert. Another well-received collection was Rocky Road, described as ‘a celebration of colour, life, balance, fun and relaxation,’ and features Capra’s debut linen range in collaboration with Byron Bay based textile designer Anna Sassi. Locality in collaboration have followed hand in hand with the brand, working with known names in the Aussie plant and design sphere. ‘It’s nice to be a part of a thriving community who are interested in seeing each other succeed, finding ways to collaborate and helping each other progress,’ says Bianca Lambert. With such great homegrown talent in the design and plant department over in Australia it's no wonder the pieces from each collaboration have been of the highest quality and design!
Sustainability
Akin to the many designers that we represent at JAU, Capra Designs also practice sustainability as an integral part of their brand. As all their inventory is handcrafted in small batches they are able to minimise wastage as well as reducing unnecessary packaging. Capra Designs is also always on the search for materials to use in their designs that are the least environmentally taxing. Cork was utilised in the flat pack cork plant stand not only for its functionality and the organic and warm texture but also because of the eco friendly and sustainable nature of the material. The label has even gone so far as to formulate an eco-terrazzo!
“After several visits to our manufacturer, it became apparent that they had a wasteland of ceramic pots that didn't make it through the firing or quality control process. We wanted to find a way to help clear the waste and utilize the abandoned material. We asked our manufacturer to formulate a new subtle terrazzo, with earthy tones, for this new collection” says Juliette Gambert speaking on the newest collaborative collection ‘Sol’.
