We chat to our Creative Director, Kate Gordon about the upcoming Spring Summer collections and her summer inspirations.
What was your inspiration when developing the new ranges?
This season we are completely inspired by the craft of pottery. We are returning to a very hand made aesthetic and exploring reactive glazes. Both my Grandma’s glaze recipes from the 50’s and my Dad’s from the 80’s are a major influence this collection.
What does summer look like in your home?
Summer in our home is always about the outdoors.
This summer I am excited about being in our garden - I cannot wait for trees that we have planted to bear fruit, the flowers to be cut and the strawberries to be eaten. It is about being outside as much as possible - enjoying the incredible spot that we live in (the Dandenong Ranges). We also enjoy a lot more salads and healthy foods during this season - so its looking at sharing dishes for dinner and summer bbq.
This Summer will also be the time that our little baby girl Ellis will be crawling on our front lawn and maybe even taking her first steps!
Have you used or developed any new techniques this season?
In terms of innovation - we are always looking at designing and developing how our pieces are actually packaged. We are interested in always changing both how the goods arrive to the customer and how they are displayed instore. We work with an industrial designer who has developed a very exciting bauble box for our famous Hug Mugs and kids mugs. This boxing means that retailers are able to hang the mug either on racking or even a Christmas tree setup - creating fun and eye-catching displays to promote the pieces.
Your favourite piece in the new collection?
I have to say that as a mum, my favourite piece this season is the new little organic Swatch Mugs for kids. They are so super cute and are available in all of our Swatch colours.
You'll be shooting the new ranges soon, how does a typical photoshoot come together for Robert Gordon?
Our photoshoots are always about maximum organisation! My sister Hannah and I do all the styling and planning. I take on role of creative director and planner. I choose a theme or look for the catalogue and then work through each range planning what will go in the shoot and what kind of props and backgrounds we will use. I paint all the back grounds and source all the props. We are lucky because a lot of the time our actual factory in Pakenham is a major source of props and backgrounds! Then Han and I do a mock-up day where we actually do each shot ourselves. That takes the fuss away from when the photographer comes in. Because we are not stylists by trade, we like to be prepared. These shots are lined up, ready for the actual photoshoot. A lot can change once the photographer comes in but we always like to be organised. We shoot our whole catalogue in one day with a very patient, talented and kind photographer!
We are always so proud of the end result - keeping all the styling in house means that we do have a lot of control over our brand look and feel. It is very much a reflection of us as a family.
