Home Stories: Mitch Thompson

Posted on 28 December, 2018

As the year comes to an end, somewhere between the regret of eating too much and falling asleep on a deck chair, many of us reflect on the year that was by evaluating what we’ve achieved, what we haven’t, and set goals for the next year.

By “achieve”, I don’t mean only in terms of work, but also in personal goals and friendships. Despite my vampire-like ability to stay awake late at night, I’m human too and I’m not immune to this process of reflection.

I started Home Stories three and a half years ago (yep that long—none of us are getting any younger) with a story on designer Mitch Thompson. Since then, I’ve miraculously won all you over, which was quite the personal goal and—in the process—deepened many friendships. Taking all this into account, I figured that it was a very fitting thing to revisit Mitch and invite another friend, Avon Dissanayake, to be your eyes though his crafty photography.

Since I last visited Mitch he hasn’t changed all that much. He’s got same the blonde beard, round glasses and edgy dress sense, but his place in Lyneham certainly has changed. His roommate moved out, his girlfriend Katerina moved in (along with a doggy called Dee-Oh-Gee) and his home has been transformed into an art-loving design mecca.

Both Mitch and Katerina are keen on art—especially local art—which they collect not so much as a financial investment, but as a personal investment for their happiness. Take a peek at the ‘gallery wall’ to spot works from Luke Chiswell, Jess Cochrane, Alex Lundy, Rachel Byron, Fredrika Rose, Josh Elthrowington, Madeleine Ward, Mimi Fairall and Heather Corrigan.

The couple are also keen on design and, as you can see from the photos, there are plenty of quirky elements to rest your eyes on.

Everything is ‘different’—from the duck telephone, wooden robot, Spice Girls polaroid camera and bathroom floor mat; to the coffee mug collection, which features a set that Mitch pinched from Parliament House. The dog kennel is so cool, it should have a Home Story of its own.

The outside table was designed and built by a friend and has a unique wave pattern on the supporting beams just to make it different to mass-manufactured pieces.

What’s most fun though, is that there is a third dimension to Mitch and Katerina. Not only do they collect art and revel in cool design pieces, but they are also creators themselves. Mitch is no stranger to the sewing table with his Perpetually Five label, while his partner also dabbles in creative projects—some of which you’ll hopefully see in 2019, especially if you’re after some overalls.

Their home is littered with elements they have created themselves—check out the vintage ruler wall feature (which reminds me of an old Magnet Mart logo), the Mitch self-portrait in the bathroom (drawn without looking at the canvas in a single brush pen line), the perfectly positioned red cord exposed bulb lamp next to the Jessica Cochrane piece (placed on an old school desk as a side table in the bedroom) and, last but not least, the three magnolias that Mitch planted when he moved in.

And as all creatives will say, the job is never done. The pair took me though so many things they still have in planning stages: more paintings to be bought and hung, more landscaping to be developed for the doggie to enjoy, more fashion projects to launch, and so on.

Listening to that list, it became quite apparent that we should all learn to reflect less on the past but be excited by what’s in store in the future.