home by holly - in.the.pod

To celebrate Home By Holly's 10th birthday, we sit down with acclaimed Canberra contemporary jewellery designer Phoebe Porter, whose practice spans more than 25 years of gold and silversmithing.
Trained at the ANU Canberra School of Art under master craftspeople Ragnar Hansen (Norway) and Johannes Kuhnen (Germany), Phoebe shares how her Bauhaus-influenced education shaped her distinctive style — combining precious and industrial materials into sculptural, wearable pieces that come alive on the body.
In this conversation we cover:
Her design journey — from intensive four-year training in Canberra, to a decade working in Melbourne's contemporary jewellery scene at EG Attal and the Abbotsford Convent, to returning home and building her studio practice in Canberra
The Bauhaus influence — how European modernist principles of material honesty and industrial-precious hybridity shape every piece she makes, and how it led to her role as designer-in-residence for the 2019 DesignCanberra Festival
Australian Fashion Week 2025 — the story behind designing jewellery for 10 runway looks in collaboration with fashion designer Alice Sutton (Edition Label) and Indigenous artist Sarita King, and making Canberra history as the first Canberra designers to show at Australian Fashion Week
Her Raw & Refined exhibition — pairing uncut Australian gemstones and natural metal specimens with her signature precision components, currently on display at Canberra Airport's Departures Lounge as part of the Craft + Design Canberra Festival
Her creative process — how experimental one-off exhibition pieces evolve into her enduring signature range, and how she brings her modernist aesthetic to remaking clients' heirloom jewellery
You can find Phoebe's work at phoebeporter.com.au or on Instagram @phoebe.porter. Visit her Canberra studio by appointment.

Designer Phoebe Porter reflects on a career shaped by Bauhaus training, a distinctive mix of precious and industrial materials, and a sculptural, wearable approach to contemporary jewellery. She discusses collaborations, her work being shown at Australian Fashion Week, and the evolution of her signature pieces.
Phoebe previews her Raw and Refined exhibition and Design Canberra events — including the Undercurrent Market and a Canberra Airport showcase — and invites listeners to view or commission work via her website and Instagram.

Alice van Merz, discussing her journey from a Canberra studio to national fashion festivals. Holly and Alice explore collaborations with fellow artists, expanding collections to be more accessible, and the creative and business lessons learned along the way.
The episode highlights recent showcases, mentoring influences, plans for the future, and the importance of local creative communities, ending with an invitation to visit Alice’s open studio during Design Canberra.

Winemaker Hamish Young from MADA is a true believer in the potential of Canberra, Hilltops and Tumbarumba wines, Hamish works tirelessly to ensure our region is at the forefront of Australia’s wine landscape through collaboration, generosity and passion.  

Ashely Alexander from Sound Technique, creative consultant, music producer, DJ, Home Stories/The Look In series presenter & Behind the Bio podcast host, and a long time friend of home.byholly. 

Jodie Cunningham lives in a hot pink house, makes art in her studio at the M16artspace, and works as CEO + Artistic Director at Craft + Design Canberra. in.the.pod, we talk to Jodie about the upcoming Craft + Design Festival 2024.
Jodie Cunningham is a Canberra based visual artist and maker of objects and jewellery. She has an MFA, UNSW; BFA with University Medal, ANU and was the recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship for the Visual Arts. 
A self confessed chromofile Cunningham has an obsession with colour, circles, pattern, symbolism and the delights of perspex. Her perspex objects are vibrant constructions of colour, that play on the qualities of materiality and light. She uses patterns and symbols sourced from local architecture and domestic spaces that explore the containment of time and memory in the membranes of the home and the architecture of our city.

Sue Webeck. Sue is the Chief Executive Officer of the Domestic Violence Crisis Service