In our latest interview for Design Insiders, a series that introduces the creative minds behind the Space brand, Eileen Rickerby discusses the early influence of the family furniture business that would begin her love of design from the age of seven. Joining the Space team 25 years ago, it was a visit to the Milan Furniture Fair in the mid-1990s, meeting designers Antonio Citterio, Patricia Urquiola and Massimo Morozzi, and learning "something different and personal from each of them”, that began her passion for contemporary design. "There was furniture wall to wall, acres of it, and what struck me was that Space had the best brands in the world on offer, bar none."
Hi Eileen, you joined Space in 1996 and remain a key member of the team – what was your design path?
It started with clothes and it grew from there. I think dressing yourself isn’t so different to dressing a beautiful interior. We all enjoy looking our best so why not look your best in a beautifully designed room! A room inside a home, a home in a garden, to me it’s a natural progression. I can’t help but leave a place, with or without permission (laughter), looking better than it did before I arrived.
I developed my skills working in the industry, starting very young working in my father’s furniture store RV O’Halloran Home Furniture in the main street of Swan Hill in country Victoria. So the family business was furniture and I loved it! I started going out with dad in his big van at the age of about seven, delivering and setting the furniture up for clients. Seeing my dad at work was such an amazing thing for me as a kid and I learnt how to communicate with people through him.
In my 20s and 30s I worked with two large furniture companies in Sydney, Buckley’s Interiors and Design Warehouse, before I joined the team at Space. In my first year at Space I went to the Milan Furniture Fair, and it wasn’t until then that I was truly exposed to great design and understood what design meant. That’s when I got very stirred up and excited by it all. There was furniture wall to wall, acres of it, and what struck me was that Space had the best brands on offer, bar none.
The highly crafted Tesaurus cabinet collection by Maxalto. All photos c/o Maxalto.
How did your passion for design develop?
I had a burning desire to live in a home with beautiful furniture from the time I was involved with our family business, and the passion developed after visiting Milan with Space. Meeting prominent architects and designers for the first time, hearing how passionate they were about the pieces they had designed for B&B Italia, Maxalto, Edra and many others. Antonio Citterio was amazing, Philippe Starck, Massimo Morozzi, Patricia Urquiola and Piero Lissoni, to name a few. I learnt something different and personal from each of them. On that first trip, it struck me that great design makes us feel better about life and that stills burns strong for me today.
Do you have a favourite piece in the Space collection?
Yes, it’s the Tesaurus cabinet by Maxalto.
What is it about Maxalto's Tesaurus that caught your eye?
Its unusual organic shape to begin with, and its ability to convey that it is special. Most cabinets are square or rectangular so it was something we had never seen from Maxalto before. Only a master craftsman would be able to make something as beautiful, each piece takes a lot of time to perfect. There is Marquina marble on the top, inlaid pear wood with lovely bronze details and features in the hardware, a graphite handle which is very tactile and quite unusual, and a beautiful interior. The artisans would have curved the wood and made the inlays by hand, so the degree of difficulty is enormous. I think it is an amazing piece, it gives a room a greater sense of harmony and beauty, it elevates the space.
"In my first year at Space, I went to the Milan Furniture Fair and it wasn’t until then that I was truly exposed to great design and understood what design meant. That’s when I got very stirred up and excited by it all."
Eileen Rickerby
"The artisans would have curved the wood and made the inlays by hand, so the degree of difficulty is enormous," remarks Eileen, who singles out the Tesaurus as an important design for its traditional wood craftsmanship. Portrait © Tim Ashton.
Architect and designer Antonio Citterio, one of the industries most influential furniture designers, has penned furniture for brands including Kartell, Vitra, B&B Italia and Maxalto. Portrait c/o B&B Italia.
B&B Italia on via Durini during the Milan Furniture Fair. Photo c/o B&B Italia.
Designer Patricia Urquiola outside her Milan studio. Photo c/o Patricia Urquiola.
The 50th anniversary of B&B Italia and Gaetano Pesce's UP5 & 6 collection outside Milan's iconic duomo. Photo c/o B&B Italia.
The streets of Milan are transformed during Milan Design Week which remains one of the city's most important annual events. Photo c/o Space Furniture.
The lighting of Ingo Maurer on show inside the former San Paolo Converso Church in Milan. Photo c/o Ingo Maurer.
Eileen Rickerby at the launch of Lee Broom's 'Park Life' show at Space Sydney in 2019. Photo c/o Space.
A favourite from the Space colleciton, Eileen describes the Tesaurus cabinet as "something we had never seen from Maxalto before". Photo c/o Maxalto.
Tesaurus has been designed in three different heights and widths, with two or four doors, drawers and flap doors. Photo c/o Maxalto.
Portrait of Eileen Rickerby with her favourite piece from the collection, Maxalto's Tesaurus cabinet. Portrait © Tim Ashton.
"It’s thrilling to be in a position to show clients what’s possible and to share with their families and friends the pieces that give them joy. A space is so important and it’s essential that the furniture suits it. I will often spend months at a time working on an individual project, it takes time. I want to reflect the people who I am helping and have a meeting of the minds."
Eileen Rickerby
Design is an extension of who we are, it's very personal. What is the best piece of advice you can give a client when choosing furniture?
That’s easy. Buy the pieces you just love, nothing else counts. My father always said if you can't afford the pieces you want, then just wait. So I always say, if you really want something don’t buy anything in between. Wait until you can afford it. I still have a beautiful Black Watch tartan rug and a crocodile leather writing set that I bought when I was 14 years-old.
What do you enjoy most about sharing your design knowledge?
It’s thrilling to be in a position to show clients what’s possible and to share with their families and friends the pieces that give them joy. A space is so important and it’s essential that the furniture suits it. I will often spend months at a time working on an individual project, it takes time. I want to reflect the people who I am helping and have a meeting of the minds. I want to know how they live, so I casually ask questions as we chat. That gives me the direction and I can see what lights them up. People don’t always want to show too much at the start, but once they can see that you can help to shape their dreams they open up.
Do you have a favourite project that has been keeping you busy recently?
I am currently working with clients who have bought a new apartment in Sydney and we are working on everything down to the crockery. They are young, newlywed globe trotters, who are busy and happy to have somebody with experience to do much of it for them. You do get quite involved with people and develop relationships which is wonderful. I have first and second generation clients, and the second generations are now introducing me to their children. It’s been a lovely life for me, I’ve fallen into something that my father introduced me to which is all about people and I love it.
Thanks Eileen, great to catch up with you.
