The result of a collaboration between an established Tasmanian furniture manufacturer, Designs in Timber and Brisbane based designer, Alex Lotersztain, One/Third has brought the cream of Australia’s designers together to produce a large collection of highly crafted items in Tasmanian Oak. The name One/Third was chosen to express the importance of each of the three pillars under which the brand operates - design, craftsmanship and quality.
Lotersztain not only contributes several of his own designs to the brand but is also it’s artistic director. Brett and Rebecca Gray of Designs in Timber approached Lotersztain to help them create a younger, more design focused brand which would use the companies 50 years of experience in the furniture industry to create competitive Australian products in solid timber. Lotersztain’s design ability and proven track record with companies such as Stylecraft (who have distributed Lotersztain’s highly successful Derlot Editions brand since 2008) made him the obvious choice to direct the artistic side of things, leaving the Grays to concentrate on prototyping and manufacturing.
Launched in August 2012, the brand’s first collection included two designs by Lotersztain , the ‘Cubo’ modular storage system and the ‘Solid’ table and stools along with three designs by Helen Kontouris, Adam Goodrum and Jon Goulding - 'Penelope', 'Tub' and 'Splay'. All are veterans of the Australian design scene with Kontouris and Goodrum being two of very few Australian designers to have been successful internationally. Two older designs from Designs in Timber, the ‘Husk’ table and bench and 'Tim' and 'Tom' bar stools (both from 2011) were also released as part of the first collection.
2013 saw a slight change in direction for the brand with the more obvious use of metal components. A new scissor-leg stool design called ‘Lever’ by Launceston based designer Matt Prince was added and a very rustic lighting design called ‘Log’ by Duncan Meerding. In October the same year Lotersztain added a new system of tables and benches using a metal bracket joint system to create highly cost effective assembly and to make a focal point of the coloured joints. Ross Gardam, who is a regular designer for the Stylecraft brand also joined the One/Third family with his ‘Asymmetry’ side tables that combine fine metal rod with a turned timber top. This natural growth of ideas and materials has created a more diverse look to the collection broadening the application of the brand in restaurant fit outs and other commercial spaces.
Jon Goulding, now Creative Director of the Furniture Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory, also added a new piece to accompany his earlier ‘Splay’ side table in the form of a finely upholstered armchair and later in the year, a rocking chair.