The Italian job
by Heather Leggett
The art of wood turning traces its origins back to 1300 BC but for UniSA graduate John Hallett, the ancient practice is alive and well - and taking him on the trip of a lifetime.
The Industrial Design alumnus and wood turning aficionado has won this year’s Italian Centre Design Award, and along with it an all expenses paid trip to Italy.
Hallett, an Associate Designer/Maker at the JamFactory, is "ecstatic" at having won the award, which called for designers to create a practical object for the food and wine industry that reflected the Italian emphasis on family, heritage and communal feasting.
The result – a wood turned New Guinea Wau Beech antipasto platter finished with lustrous Danish Oil - just begs to be laden with food.
"I wanted to create some- thing that would celebrate the joy of communal eating," Hallett says.
"I’ve also made it larger than usual and used an uncommon material in the turning process."
Feasting and communal eating is something Hallett might find himself doing plenty of in Italy early next year, where he plans to spend a couple of months in glasswork capital, Venice, learning the specialised art of wood turning moulds for glass blowing.
"I can’t wait to go," he says. "I previously travelled there as a tourist but am looking forward to experiencing what it’s like to live there and be immersed in the culture.
"I’ll learn rare skills that I can share not just with my colleagues at the JamFactory, but also the Adelaide design community."
Hallett had never used a lathe – the machine used in woodturning - until the beginning of last year, but is now one of the craft’s greatest advocates. And he has a very Gen Y spin on a very old practice.
"It’s one form of craftsmanship where you can see the results of your work immediately," he says.
"The wood takes shape and changes very rapidly from raw materials into a beautiful piece of art."
The Adelaide local, whose ultimate aim is to have his own business, considers himself to be more a crafts- person than a designer.
"How well a piece is made, the quality of the finished product – that’s what’s most important to me," he says.