Melbourne Design Week 2026

In May, our sister company The English Tapware Company were proud to sponsor Tactile Dialogues: Fragments of Matter as part of NGV Melbourne Design Week 2026, alongside Fisher & Paykel and Milieu Property Group.

Presented by Made by Morgen and curated by Ryan Fernandes Design, the exhibition brought together an exceptional group of local artists, designers and makers to explore fragmentation as both material and concept — encouraging dialogue, curiosity and reflection through craftsmanship and form.

They showcased the Levant cabinet hardware and hinges featured on the collaborative Quarry cabinet by Nick McDonald, furniture maker and Jessie French, artist, alongside a curated display exploring the making process behind Cove by Joseph Giles.

The evening created meaningful conversations with many of the city's leading architects and designers, celebrating collaboration, materiality and contemporary design downunder.

Above: Curated display exploring the making process behind Cove by Joseph Giles.

With The English Tapware Company as a sponsor - showcasing the Cove collection reinforces the exhibition’s narrative around fragmentation and assembly at a building scale — showing how even the smallest elements (handles, junctions, contact points) are part of the broader material dialogue. It effectively extends the exhibition beyond object and furniture into the architectural layer that frames and enables those interactions, grounding the conceptual work in real-world specification and built environments.

The Joseph Giles Cove Collection fit naturally into the exhibition as a quiet, architectural counterpoint to the more expressive and experimental works.

The exhibition brought together works by Jessie French (Other Matter), Jon Goulder, Sarah Nedovic, Ned Vernon (V.BROKKR), Billy Crellin (Studio Dokola), Jordan Fleming, Emma Davies and Ryan L. Foote, alongside Made By Morgen.
 
Melbourne Design Week is an initiative of the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and delivered by the NGV.

Above:  Joseph Giles Levant cabinet hardware and hinges featured on the collaborative Quarry cabinet by Nick McDonald, furniture maker and Jessie French, biomaterial artist. 

Detail shots: Matthew McQuiggan