Adam Markowitz @adammarkowitzdesign and I are delighted to join @wardle.studio for The Craft of Place this Melbourne Design Week.
Joining the craftspeople who have brought @yiaga.au to life, we will be discussing our shared methodology and ongoing collaborative body of work that lead to our bespoke pendant design Kindling for Yiaga.
@wardle.studio@yiaga.au@adammarkowitzdesign #MelbourneDesignWeek @ngvmelbourne
SpeakingOut! With Adam Markowitz
In the latest episode of SpeakingOut! for the INDE.Awards, Jan Henderson sits down with 2025 The Object category winner @adammarkowitzdesign to unpack the story behind A Cabinet of Curiosities - a finely crafted, quietly complex piece designed to transform with its environment.
From early days in woodworking to a global journey through design and making, Adam shares how a deep respect for materiality, particularly American walnut, and a commitment to skill-building shape his practice today. Alongside collaborator and master craftsman Simeon Dux, this award-winning piece balances light, privacy and precision through an intricate system of folding timbre doors.
Proudly supported by the American Hardwood Export Council @ahec_anz , partner of The Object at the 2026 INDE.Awards, this episode celebrates the intersection of architecture, craftsmanship and the enduring value of doing.
Entries to this year’s INDE.Awards are now closed, stay tuned for the 2026 shortlist announcement on the 2nd July. Find out more at indeawards.com.
#indeawards #speakingout! #theobject #ahec #adammarkowitz
The making of Kindling, a collaborative pendant design by Ruth Allen and Adam Markowitz for @yiaga.au
Hugh Allen skipped no details in the making of his debut restaurant Yiaga, ensuring every corner of the space is alive with exquisite craftsmanship. From tableware, to tiling, cabinetry, furniture and lighting, Yiaga has formed a constellation of handmade details.
Ruth and Adam’s latest manifestation of their ongoing collaborative work, Kindling, sees a bespoke application of glass and timber to evoke the deep tactility of process — responding directly to the ethos and grandeur of Yiaga. Here, molten glass is blown to drape over fine timber like tubular liquid, suspended weightlessly above Vivienne Wong’s cypress table.
@ruthallenglass@adammarkowitzdesign@yiaga.au@hughsallen@vivienne_l_wong
Photography by Jason Lucas
Re-editions brings together eight furniture pieces that reflect a shared pursuit: understanding what American red oak and cherry can do in the hands of India’s most exacting craftspeople.
Designed by Geoffrey Bawa Practice, x+l, INODA+SVEJE and Adam Markowitz - and crafted by Phantom Hands - the collection carries forward the lessons of last year’s REFRACTIONS collaboration, deepening the studio’s relationship with American hardwoods.
From sculpted seating in American red oak to quietly expressive forms in cherry, each piece reflects a dialogue between designers, makers, and materials, shaped through months of experimentation, material testing, and knowledge exchange.
Together, they offer a new lens on durability, craft, and the role of responsibly sourced hardwoods at Design Mumbai 2025.
📸: Phantom Hands
#americanhardwoods #AHEC #India #americanhardwoodadvantage #redoak #cherry #re-editions #designmumbai #phantomhands #ahec #craft #furnituredesign #materialdriven #designcollaboration2021
A beautiful video by @jasonloucas of the making of the Yiaga’s Kindling Pendant, suspended above the cypress table by @vivienne_l_wong A collaboration between Melbourne-based makers @ruthallenglass and @adammarkowitzdesign , Kindling explores the moment where two crafts meet. Molten glass at over 900°C is blown and draped around a Tasmanian Blackwood base that integrates concealed table spotlights and an LED strip to illuminate the glass. As the glass meets the wood, both are transformed the pendant bears the memory of that encounter.
We are thrilled to share that our collaborative work, Kindling, has been awarded Highly Commended in the 2025 Clarence Prize – Australia’s most prestigious for contemporary furniture design.
Kindling captures the charged moment of encounter between two elemental materials: molten glass and finely crafted timber. The result is a singular luminaire that speaks to material intelligence, shared risk, and the deep knowledge held in handcraft.
Sincere thanks to the jury, Jane Valentine, Brian Parkes and Patrick Hall, for recognising the merit of our work. Additional congratulations to Ash Allen, recipient of the main prize, and to Jess Humpston, awarded Emerging Designer.
Presented by the City of Clarence, the Clarence Prize exhibition is now open at Rosny Farm, running from 7 September — 5 October. Huge thanks to the City of Clarence and Rosny Farm for supporting this critical platform for Australian design.
Documentation: @fotokroh@rosnyfarm #clarenceprize #clarenceartsandevents #ruthallenglass #adammarkowitzdesign #kindling
Very proud that the Cabinet of Curiosities was announced as the winner of the Object category at the #INDEAwards @indesignlive amongst a very competitive field.
The Cabinet was a collaboration with Master Craftsman @simeondux who I turn to with the particularly big and curly ones and who nails it time and again. Designed by me, built by Sim (and apprentice Ellen 🇩🇰). A complex piece that had to meet a challenging brief.
Thanks to the Jury, Clients D+R for trusting me yet again, sponsors @ahec_anz and @janhenderson_ at @indesignlive who has been a long time supporter.
(Good) Photos @charliewhitewhite
Adam, a renowned figure in Melbourne’s maker community, is an accomplished architect, designer, and woodworker. We’ve commissioned @adammarkowitzdesign and @ruthallenglass for a unique collaboration: a bespoke pendant designed for our private dining room. Crafted from Tasmanian Blackwood and molten glass. The glass flowing around and burning into the timber, leaving burns behind.
Feeling very honoured to have received a Commendation at the @architecture_vic awards on Friday night. Against such a competitive and established field to even make it to the final shortlist, and then get this recognition from the jury has been a fantastic outcome.
Thanks to
@stavriasarchitecture collaborators, particularly @knickyhenderson who assisted me through the project
Ross Bakker @bakkaconstructions builder, an old school craftsman
Trusting Clients D&M
@joferguson.gardens landscaping
@piercarthew x @jesskneebone photography & styling
And a host of local craftspeople that contributed to the job, from custom tapware @woodmelbourne to butcher block island benches (sorry @simeondux ) and many others, too many to list here
