Soeur Design News
The Press Archives, April 9, 2000
Australian industrial style contrasts with traditional Chinese furniture and young artists' work at a new Merivale outlet. The metal-worker who once welded together a cabinet for use in a hospital would be surprised to see how it is regarded now: as a trendy cupboard for use in the home. The cabinet is among a range of industrial-style furniture attracting attention at Shop 188, a new retail outlet and gallery in Merivale.
The shop is a new venture for Soeur Design, which runs a women's fashion business, with its main premises just around the corner. It remains very much a family business ("soeur" is French for sister), and is run by Maria and Ann Tyrie. Maria's daughter, Kylie, and Ann's daughter, Jodi, also work in the business. As well as the cabinet, other items include storage shelves that were once a cobbler's rack, baker's trays, and unusual metal chairs from a church.
The furniture comes from old railway stations, schools, and many other industrial-type buildings. It has all been rescued from destruction, and has been turned into arty, alternative-looking furniture in Australia. "We're really excited with some of the products," says Kylie. "In the past, Christchurch people have been relatively conservative, but we think it's the young person's antiques.
"A lot of young people don't relate to Victorian or Georgian antiques. They want something that fits into an apartment." In its minimalist black-and-white setting, the industrial metal pieces contrast with red Chinese furniture, brought back in a container from a place near Shanghai, where Ann Tyree braved minus 20deg temperatures to go on a shopping trip.
All the furniture is from 50 to 100 years old. The pieces include chests, cabinets, a combination seat and basket for use in a rice field, and a dowry box. The timber is mostly Chinese elm, oak, rosewood, other kinds of fruitwood, and bamboo. It has all been fumigated and humidified to prevent it from warping in the New Zealand climate.
Its construction is exquisite, says Maria. No nails are used, just "post- and-pillar construction". Doors on an adapted TV cabinet open and shut effortlessly. A third component at Shop 188 is art work by up and coming artists, including students' work. "We felt that no-one was helping the artists," says Ann. "A lot of them go through, and what happens to them? They don't have a commercial outlet."
Shop 188 displays work that it believes is saleable. If a piece sells, the shop takes a small commission.
Australian industrial style contrasts with traditional Chinese furniture and young artists' work at a new Merivale outlet. The metal-worker who once welded together a cabinet for use in a hospital would be surprised to see how it is regarded now: as a trendy cupboard for use in the home. The cabinet is among a range of industrial-style furniture attracting attention at Shop 188, a new retail outlet and gallery in Merivale.
The shop is a new venture for Soeur Design, which runs a women's fashion business, with its main premises just around the corner. It remains very much a family business ("soeur" is French for sister), and is run by Maria and Ann Tyrie. Maria's daughter, Kylie, and Ann's daughter, Jodi, also work in the business. As well as the cabinet, other items include storage shelves that were once a cobbler's rack, baker's trays, and unusual metal chairs from a church.
The furniture comes from old railway stations, schools, and many other industrial-type buildings. It has all been rescued from destruction, and has been turned into arty, alternative-looking furniture in Australia. "We're really excited with some of the products," says Kylie. "In the past, Christchurch people have been relatively conservative, but we think it's the young person's antiques.
"A lot of young people don't relate to Victorian or Georgian antiques. They want something that fits into an apartment." In its minimalist black-and-white setting, the industrial metal pieces contrast with red Chinese furniture, brought back in a container from a place near Shanghai, where Ann Tyree braved minus 20deg temperatures to go on a shopping trip.
All the furniture is from 50 to 100 years old. The pieces include chests, cabinets, a combination seat and basket for use in a rice field, and a dowry box. The timber is mostly Chinese elm, oak, rosewood, other kinds of fruitwood, and bamboo. It has all been fumigated and humidified to prevent it from warping in the New Zealand climate.
Its construction is exquisite, says Maria. No nails are used, just "post- and-pillar construction". Doors on an adapted TV cabinet open and shut effortlessly. A third component at Shop 188 is art work by up and coming artists, including students' work. "We felt that no-one was helping the artists," says Ann. "A lot of them go through, and what happens to them? They don't have a commercial outlet."
Shop 188 displays work that it believes is saleable. If a piece sells, the shop takes a small commission.
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