— observations from the Blue Mountains Design Bureau —

De Bono Designs

I love that motherhood motivates many women to explore their entrepreneurial side. I first met Catherine Debono on the preschool circuit when I moved to the mountains a few years ago. Through fragmented conversations whilst juggling young children, I had heard that Catherine had started designing her own textiles. It was not until recently though, when I happened to spy in a shop window some stunning ‘just the right shade of green’ cushions, that I had the opportunity to finally view and appreciate her talents first hand.

Catherine’s foray into textile design was born out of necessity after having her two children. Her career in environmental science sadly lacked flexible family friendly working options, so she seized the opportunity to pursue an unrealised yearning for more creative endeavours. In 2011 Catherine officially launched her own textile design business De Bono Designs into the commercial market. As De Bono Designs, Catherine now produces an impressive array of contemporary hand printed cushions, tea towels and napery on high quality european linen.

Inspired by her love of nature and all things aquatic, Catherine’s observant scientific eye distills the beauty of the patterns and repetition found in nature into refined abstract designs. Colourways are informed by the natural evolution of the seasons, displayed so vividly in the stunning beauty of the native and european flora of our mountains.

De Bono Designs are available at a number of select mountain’s retailers including Moontree Candle Shop and Gallery (The Mall, Leura), Leura Whisk and Leura Whisk Table Top.

Tell us a bit about the set up of your business/work?

De Bono Designs creates original designs, inspired by water; the sea, the ocean, and its tributaries. My designs are hand screened onto 100% linen, and then handmade into homewares.

I create my designs from my printing room on the lower level of my home that backs onto the bush in the quiet mid mountains village of Bullaburra. I love experiencing the bush while I work and the many native birds that come to frolic and sing as I hang out my prints to dry in the sun. It is a lovely ambient setting to allow my creativity to unfold.

I also love working around the little people in my life, bringing them into the process of creating and enjoying the tactile experience of practical, textural and aesthetic comforts for the home.

What drives your creative direction?

Self-expression; feeling a season and its colours around me; missing the ocean, its energy and its powerful life force.My love of the home made, and the memories associated with skills that have been passed down through my mother and grandmother to me as a child.The time and passion captured in a handmade product for another to take home and enjoy with their senses, hopefully in turn provoking their own good memories.

Who or what is exciting you right now?

Autumn is exciting me right now…the crispness of cool air days coupled with the gift of warm, sunny days owed to us after a such wet summer! VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! Enjoying the absence of complacency.

What’s next on the horizon?

De Bono Designs will be venturing into wall art and more textiles for the time and experience spent with family and friends around the dinner table, where beautiful fabrics can add to the experience of the sharing of food and breaking bread together.

How long have you lived in the mountains and what do you like about it?

I moved to the Mountains from Sydney in June 2000, almost 12 years now! I love giving my children the opportunity to experience the uniques space, nature and community that the mountains offers. Aspects that I experienced as a child that you just can’t get in the city anymore (nature and a little bit of a slower pace to notice it). I like the sense of community and the rugged terrain sitting just beside us in our everyday lives…..reminding us of what the real values in life are.

What do you love most about your home?

I love the bush backing onto our property. When I look from the top of our street, I just see miles of uninhabited bush; a wonderful sense of the untamed.

What are your most memorable mountain moments?

The dramatic change in weather from one town to another, the volatility of the bush in a bush fire and the amazing community of people that make up the Mountains. Oh and the haunting sound of Black Cockatoos as they fly by!

What advice would you give others wanting to get into your field?

Remember that there is only one YOU! Whatever you produce from the heart will be unique in its own standing compared to others in your field. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day…..it all takes time to come to fruition, in every way (design, ideas, dealing with stockists and clients and understanding yourself by looking at it all in hindsight). Don’t give up….the journey is an integral part of the end result.

Your perfect mountains weekend…

Spending time with friends, sharing food, wine and laughs.

To contact Catherine Debono email cathypdebono@bigpond.com

 WORDS BY LIBBY SULLIVAN   PORTRAIT BY CAMILLE WALSH   IMAGES BY CATHERINE DEBONO


2 comments on “De Bono Designs

  1. Victoria on said:

    What a great piece Cath! I love how you’re inspired by the cyclic nature of the seasons in your designs. We’re so lucky here in the Mountains to really sense the difference between them. xx

  2. Catherine on said:

    Thanks Victoria. We are extrememly lucky to have such a vast and rugged space around, giving us the seasons, each with a definate edge.

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