Hand Of The Maker At Melbourne Design Week
Taking cues from the Australian landscape, Robert Gordon and HotHaus Glass Studio celebrate the tactility of the handmade through clay, glass and light at this year’s Melbourne Design Week.
Words HANDE RENSHAW Photos MARTINA GEMMOLA
Hand Of The Maker by Robert Gordon and HotHaus Glass Studio made its debut at Melbourne Design Week.
Hand Of The Maker was inspired by the hues of native eucalyptus and the Australian landscape.
Debuting at Melbourne Design Week 2026, Hand of the Maker explores the relationship between maker and material through a collection of handcrafted lighting.
“This collaboration is about showcasing the strength of local design and the beauty of objects crafted with time. We wanted to bring our two worlds together to show the value of a piece that has been shaped by a person’s hands.”
The collection features custom glazes developed in-house by Robert Gordon’s ceramic engineer.
Hand Of The Maker draws on the muted eucalyptus tones and earthy palette of the Australian landscape.
Presented as part of Melbourne Design Week, Hand of the Maker brings together heritage Australian potters Robert Gordon and contemporary lighting studio HotHaus Glass Studio for their first collaborative exhibition.
Through a series of limited-edition lighting pieces, the exhibition explores the relationship between clay and glass, materials that sit in contrast yet share a tactile quality when shaped by hand.
The collection feels deeply connected to process rather than perfection. Hand-blown glass sits against weightier ceramic forms, with surfaces revealing subtle irregularities, tonal shifts and traces of making. Rather than concealing these elements, the pieces embrace them, allowing texture, movement and material unpredictability to remain present throughout.
For Amanda Dziedzic, HotHaus co-founder, the collaboration became an opportunity to highlight the value of local craftsmanship and the enduring appeal of handmade objects. ‘We wanted to bring our two worlds together to show the value of a piece that has been shaped by a person’s hands,’ she says. That sentiment carries through the exhibition as a whole, where the objects feel considered, physical and deeply connected to the makers behind them.
Drawing on Robert Gordon’s heritage in ceramics, the collection introduces a series of custom glazes inspired by eucalyptus tones and the Australian landscape. Soft, earthy and tonal, the palette offsets the luminosity of the hand-blown glass, bringing a sense of warmth and material depth to each piece.
Beyond the objects themselves, Hand of the Maker extends into an immersive installation created by Tweed Twigs. Incorporating native eucalyptus throughout the exhibition space, the scenography adopts what the studio describes as a form of ‘living architecture’, creating texture and atmosphere closely tied to the materials at the centre of the exhibition.
Hand Of The Maker
14 Little Oxford Street, Collingwood VIC
Thursday May 14 – Sunday May 17
