Author: Corban Blair

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Our leather office range is designed to adapt to a diverse working environment and help add professionalism to your office décor.
Corban & Blair’s passion is to create meaningful products that are valued, useful and desirable. Shop the Artisan Range here.
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If you like to know more about our leather desk accessories and custom design service, contact us. Call 02 9560 0122 or email [email protected]

Elliot calls his artwork a stylized representation of the natural world. He uses rhythmic, organic and geometric forms that are broken down into simple motifs. These can be turned into patterns, replicated and then contoured over blended gradients that represent land, waves, clouds and living beings. He creates patterns that represent the environment they portray, stretched and repeated like fractals multiplying into the distance to create perspective and depth.
What drew to painting?
It would have to be best summed up as a family connection to art. My Grandfather was a picture framer and gallery owner so there was always lots of good painting around all the family homes. I can’t say for sure but I think that being exposed to painting growing up in an environment where visual art was considered important by many family members have influenced my trajectory in life.
Take us through your process, what inspires you?
My process generally begins with an experience out in the elements of nature, usually, a place free of the effects of the human race is where I find a sense of reverence and awe that spurs my desire to make things. My paintings are normally produced in a studio environment, currently at my workplace, Zeus Gallery where I also feed off my peers, their productivity and development inspire my desire to paint and push my work in new directions.
Have you always had an interest in art?
I have always been interested in most domains that fit the description ‘art’.
My interest has as always been more forward-leaning towards painting, sculpture and music.
How has your practice changed over time?
My practice has changed over time, some changes drastic and some minute. I think the changes in my work swing with the ebb and flow of life, the past, present and future continually evolving and responding to conditions at hand.
For the past eight years or so my painting has been going through a refinement with small changes and development of a way of working, I’ve always experimented however and have many unresolved projects. I fell it important to keep testing and trialling new ideas and don’t deny myself the thrill of fresh unexplored territories, I am also friendly with the perspective that one should not throw away the baby with the bathwater.
What project are you working on now?
I have a few projects underway currently but I think one, in particular, has been more in-depth and involved than the rest. I have been producing a depiction of a historical site located in Tauranga. I had been selected as the artist because the written word of my great uncle was to be used on a public plaque and it was deemed fitting that I be the painter to produce an image to accompany the text. The image is of a Maori Pa site, a hill fort named Puketoromiro. This work has led me through a research process far deeper, longer, more culturally and geographically involved than my standard process, it carries a responsibility that I have had to work for but enjoyed.  My gallery and the exhibitions I help make with other artist’s is a constant project at this current time.
View all Elliot Mason Collaborations here

It is a stylish shoe bag for women to carry their good shoes (heels) to work and to store their runners in during the day.
Shoezie is elegant and practical, created by Kerry Matheson SHOEZIE has a built-in satin divider to protect shoes and comes in a neat fold up pouch. The Shoezie collection comes in a range of fashionable colours designed for style and practicality.
“Let’s be honest, as women we all feel a little more fabulous when we slip on a pair of high heels. But wearing them all the time isn’t always practical, or comfortable.
Working a corporate office job, I noticed there was no fashionable and purpose-built solution for carrying my heels to the office.
After volunteering at Charity Dress for Success, I noticed that many of the clients who were being styled in donated clothing loved the look of high heels but didn’t choose them because they were catching public transport to a new workplace and didn’t want to get sore feet.
That was all the extra motivation I needed, to embark on my journey of bringing Shoezie to life.
So whether you’re off to the gym, going to your corporate job or heading out to a swanky bar, with Shoezie I hope you can stand tall and be amazing” Kerry Matheson. Purchase your Shoezie here.

Recently we made our shop window at 4 Victoria Street, Lewisham into a Window Gallery. It is wonderfully large and masses of people pass by on their way into Lewisham station.
Our first exhibit features Ocean Study 1 & Ocean Study 2 large works by well known, entrepreneur Naomi Simson.
“What most people don’t know is that creativity is very much a part of who I am. I get lost in my paints, in the colour and texture. I am deeply curious. As an entrepreneur and business owner I have a busy and sometimes ‘hectic’ work schedule. One of the places that I take myself to counterbalance my busyness, is my painting studio. During early 2020 I took the time to reflect on my 30year journey in paint. That there are many aspects to what it is to be human. My business life, speaking and writing are my contribution. I choose to have a busy life but on weekends I choose to spend hours and hours lost in the exploration of colour”. Naomi Simson.
BEACH THEME
Ocean Study 1         Ocean Study 2
“I Love water – I always have. It is always changing and reflects the environment.
I live by Sydney Harbour and I see it every day. I experience its moods and charms. I can waste hours watching it. I lose track of time. Most holidays are to either our beach house or somewhere else where there is water. My favourite time is January where every day I walk the same beach morning and night. And every time I walk it – it is different. The intersection between water and land, wet and dry, liquid and solid I find endlessly curious. My studio has an aspect to the harbour which delivers its own unique qualities”
See more click here

As a mentor for Mentor Walks Australia, I meet many interesting and talented women. Sometimes these are one off encounters, sometimes more. Occasionally it opens the way to a new collaboration. This is the case with Karen Miles an ex journalist and founder of French Consul.
French Consol
Karen founded French Consul for those who love a weekend trawling the markets, yearning for a piece of the countryside or coast, or dreaming about one day moving to Provence. French Consul linen homewares are inspired by the classic French farmer’s ‘grain sack’ stripe. She is dedicated to ensuring the family tradition of the striped linen grain sack, once utilised by grain farmers throughout Europe to identify their family’s grain at market – and now highly sought-after by homewares and textile lovers – the story lives on.
Karen sells into the retail. With disruption of Covid19 access to the market has changed, so she is exploring new ways into the market. We are sharing possibilities to get her beautiful quality products in front of new customers. French Consul’s products are made from 100% soft-washed linen fabric. The flax is grown in France, woven in one of the last surviving family linen mills in Ireland and handsewn in Ireland and Australia. Products are made from unbleached, natural linen, the woven ‘grain sack’ stripes come in soft vintage shades of grey, navy, black and white. Designed in Sydney, Australia. Check out French Consul, frenchconsul.co
A New Possibility
Karen is also discussing with Corban & Blair and other designers and artisans the possibility of a new Australian mark. Like MADE IN AUSTRALIA but for design and handcrafted artefacts to showcase Australian design and manufacturing quality.
Collaboration Attributes
Corban & Blair’s philosophy is to work with others they admire and respect, to explore new methods, processes and behaviours.
Post Covid19 our survival as creative business is based on exploring new channels, methods, ideas and information to make our industry exciting and viable. We are constantly collecting and attracting like-minded people to grow and share this attitude with.
Collaboration across sectors, to share ideas and contacts, is powerful and will ensure the survival of businesses and even whole industries.
We have enjoyed listening to the WOBI talks and daily inspirations. In particular Jesús Cochegrús talk on the importance of collaboration. This is process will be especially important for Australian businesses going forward.
Enjoy,
Gillian Corban

The Social Outfit as usual is on the ball, supporting the community and making it more colourful.
Their reusable masks are made from remnant fabrics featuring the bright and beautiful prints from previous collections. They are washable, reusable and have a wire for shaping around the nose. Each mask purchased provides employment to their sewing technicians from refugee backgrounds.
They have teamed with charity partners to ensure that those who are most vulnerable are being provided with the same necessary protection. For each face mask bought from this collection, they will donate one to a person in need, distributed with the help of their partners.
Masks will also be donated to their staff to distribute amongst their communities. Working together and collaborating across organisations and businesses makes communities safe. Buy one, Give one here.

I was reminded about the importance of keeping documents like awards, educational degrees, birth certificates, acknowledgements, courses, marriages certificates, old passports, media clippings when a customer came into our studio shop to find something to file his degrees and other documents his family valued.
Our A3 and A4 Portfolios made from book cloth with refillable sleeves are ideal for this purpose. Monogram a name, date or add a corporate logo for a unique presentation solution.
We have always used our portfolios for presentations and media, but I have now done this for myself and it makes me feel good to have all these important historical documents together and sorted. Gillian Corban
View our range of portfolios and sleeves here.
Made in Australia and supporting local business.

When you’re under pressure and need a clever solution, our in-stock range is perfect for fast turnarounds. Simply choose a product and brand your logo. These products were made in collaboration with Queensland Indigenous artist Cheryl Moggs. Featuring the artwork Bushtucker which represents the richness of the native fruit and Cheryl’s memories of collecting naipans in the bush with her mother near the NSW Queensland border. Westpac Indigenous Banking was looking for a quick and clever solution for a gift. With our in-stock product range, we can help you come up with gift and packaging ideas that will last in your clients’ memories for years.
About Cheryl Moggs: Cheryl Moggs is an Aboriginal artist, educator and leader in culturally grounded artistic development. She was born and lives on her traditional country in Goondiwindi, Queensland. She is a Bigambul descendant, a self-taught artist influenced by challenging western culture ideologies, mapping culture and place, constructing identities and connections. Corban & Blair first collaborated with Cheryl Moggs in 2008 creating the Bushtucker journal.