Leanne Culy is the artist and designer behind
Homebase Collections - a constantly evolving collection of New Zealand homeware created
at home for
your home. Leanne (and her husband, noted NZ photographer Brian Buly) live in Napier in a take-your-breath-away homestead. Their home has been the inspiration behind Leanne's range of textiles, lighting and homeware, and the beautiful things she's hand picked to complement the Homebase range.
What's your background Leanne?I'm from an advertising and graphic design back ground, I freelanced for years in Wellington during the 80's, before opening a little homewear shop in Cuba Street called Ace Interiors, up-cycling alot which was new in those days.
Brian had a film company called Airdate in those days, so I was a little involved on the props side of that, then I married and had children but kept my hand in by doing regular styling features for Home and Building magazine, now HOME mag. Brian took the photos even back then. This was in the early nineties so my interest has always been in interiors as a creative outlet. I was asked to do a book for Penguin at the time which would have been great but I didn't quite get it off the ground.
Being a mum was my top priority and it was then I decided the organic and natural way was the only way, and I carry this value through to this day.
Nature inspires Leanne and features heavily in her styling and her design
What is your favourite part of the design process?I guess my favorite part of the design process is the brain storming, coming up with the idea. Then the hard work is the doing. I think my strenngth is coming up with ideas, sometime I have too many ideas and don't know where to start my day and which idea to start on first, whether its an oar to paint, or a piece of furniture to design.
Like Leanne, I too love pegboard, so I really want some of her newly-launched 'pegboard' fabric.
Leanne in her cutting room (guys! She has a cutting room!)
I spy that awesome Brian Culy orange bird print on the wall...
and there's my favourite new fabric again.
Who are your design heroes?Some of the designers and architects from the 50's - textile designers like Lucienne Day, and the textiles of Avis Higgs, Stig Lindberg. I'm also a big fan of architects from the 50's like Albert Frey, where nature is incorporated into every project, also Frank Lloyd Wright and the husband and wife team, Charles and Ray Eames. More recent heroes are architects like Glenn Murcutt whose passion and commitment for the environment is a feature of their work.
Another couple whose aesthetic inspires me is my husband's Mum and Dad, Jacobina and David Culy. 'Bina as she was called, went to art school and took up sculpting later in life, which she was naturally talented at. She had a warm, comfortable and organic way of arranging her house, understated but stylish and artistic, she liked moving things around and rearranging her nick nacks which I also tend to do quite often. David was a craftsman and cabinet maker, he was an apprentice at the Aeronautical Technology school and in 1944 worked at the Rongitai Aerodrome, building Tiger moths. He went deaf at an early age so taught at the correspondence school, while also publishing a series of books on cabinet making, and producing and selling furniture to the likes of Kirkcaldies and Stains.
Brian and I often laugh that somehow we got to this with Homebase collections, it almost feels as though we are continuing the legacy.
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Leanne in her studio with cute-face Lola! |
What's on your wishlist?On my wish list is to find balance. The challenge is to make good art, design things and to make a living... without compromising the things that are important to me.
What's been a favourite recent project?My favourite project recently is creating the new Pinhole light, I designed it about 15 years ago for my own home and now that Homebase has its own showroom and online store, alot of the ideas like this that have layed dormant for years can be put into production.
Leanne in her sunny little dining space, checkin' our her white pinhole light.
In my spare time, I...I like to cook and Garden, or change my house around.
I dont really stop, I'm usually creating something!
The Culys are keen collectors of vintage
What advice would you give someone wanting to become a product designer?I'd never be so bold as to give advice but maybe the one thing would be, not to be afraid of learning as you go along. I have never studied and this could have been seen as something that could hold you back, but you can be your own apprentice, if you have an idea, just do it and learn as you go along. Mistakes are OK.
The Culy family kitchen - Leanne loves to re-arrange things in her home.
You and me both, homie.
Give us a recommendation - something we should do, or see...I recommend having a holiday, it awakens or reignites your creative mind. A little like spending time in a gallery. I recently went to an amazing exhibition at the Wellington city gallery, it was a photography exhibition by Gregory Crewdson.
Peeks at Leanne and Brian's home and store.
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Want to see more photos from the Homebase Collections studio, store and home?
All photos on this page are thanks to Leanne's husband - celebrated NZ photographer Brian Culy.