Woodmark is a family owned business founded by Arne Christiansen in 1986 as an importer of upholstered furniture company.
In 1990, to enable Woodmark to promote local Australian production and to offer reductions in price and delivery lead time, this strategic platform was changed from importing to manufacturing.
Followed by the successful changes, in 1994 Woodmark collaborated with furniture designer Charles Wilson to develop a chair design called CW1 Swivel Chair. This started what has now become Woodmark’s established reputation of taking new designs and developing them, ready for market.
Throughout the years, Woodmark has proudly built-up an enviable reputation as an innovative and reliable manufacturer in a discerning market, priding itself for the highest quality and design standards.
Woodmark values beautifully designed furniture and is committed to producing quality pieces for many more years to come, staying abreast of future trends in design and manufacturing techniques.
We specialised in resolving complicated detail. Our employees are trained in difficult and unique cabinet and upholstery techniques creating invaluable expertise in these areas. Woodmark Australia has employees who have been with the company since day one. Their loyalty and contribution over the years have only strengthened Woodmark’s current position.
Woodmark Australia merged with Luxmy Furniture in 2013 and now operates from the Luxmy Furniture factory in Punchbowl with the same team that has made the brand the quality player that it is!
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CHARLES WILSON
Charles Wilson is a Sydney-based industrial designer, who now works principally with furniture, although his output has covered a broad range of disciplines, including civic design, display, point of sale and domestic products. He has also been involved in numerous exhibitions in Australia and overseas, as well as founding and working within a successful design co-operative, and he also teaches industrial design at Sydney's University of Technology.
Charles has always been involved in every stage of the design and production process, exploring the forms and functionality of his work physically, rather than via computer generation. He prefers to work with drawings and scale models to develop prototypes and patterns for manufacture.
Woodmark first came into contact with Charles when we manufactured his Swivel chair in 1994 for Norman + Quaine: it is now held in the permanent collection of Sydney's Powerhouse Museum.
In 2001 Woodmark commissioned Charles to design a compact sofa. His conceptual work for the sofa led to a multitude of sketches and prototypes, which in turn were developed into an extensive collection of sofas, chairs and tables. Consisting of four ranges, the CP1, the 801, Lamella and Julep, this collection has been a great success and has received critical acclaim Australia-wide and internationally.
The R50 lounge series, released in March 2005, consists of a corner piece and multiple variations to a fixed length lounge. The continuous use of radii 50 unifies the overall element of design. "My intention was simply to design a sofa using the sort of sleek, asymmetric forms that would work in well with contemporary interiors - both commercial and domestic. I was also thinking of how people use a piece of furniture like this in different ways: sitting, lying - perching even: hence the wide low arm which could be used as a platform for trays, laptops, etc, or as a place to sit when you just don't want to commit to relaxation."
A second new lounge and ottoman, Boulder, also released in March 2005, was inspired by a grinding stone used for pounding grain that Charles grew up with. "It had a slender, tapering form, blunted and smooth from years of use," he recalls. "I was also interested in reworking the lines of previous designs such as the 801 Sofa in a far more organic direction. The scalloped arm for instance, which is comfortable and embracing, has been developed as a continuous sweep. This stretched form, which is achieved using moulded foam, is echoed in the ottoman. Again, comfort and use were considered here, as both an object to sit on or lean into." |
