In scenario worthy of Raiders of the Lost Ark – except the treasure was real – 33 years ago David Lennie struck gold in a Sydney warehouse.
In boxes that had gathered dust for years, the design aficionado and owner of premier wallpaper brand Signature Prints found the first of thousands of forgotten artworks from Australia’s top artists and designers. They included those of renowned painter, wallpaper and fabrics designer Florence Broadhurst, who was murdered in 1977.
Initially Lennie focused all his attention on the Broadhurst cache, whose rediscovered works went on to global acclaim in the form of wallpapers and textiles and used by top international fashion houses.
The Broadhurst collection now has new owners but, 33 years after their discovery, the remaining 7,500 designs - with a replacement value of more than $9 million - are primed for their own revival at the Australian Museum of Design (AMD), co-founded by Lennie and his old friend, Sydney businesswoman Margaux Everett. Note that the Broadhurst collection is not part of this venture.
With a passion for design, and a background in marketing and database management, Everett has developed a way to not only preserve these fragile, historic designs but has designed a means to release them to the world through commercial licensing.
To help fund the restoration, capital will be raised via Birchal equity crowdfunding, whose shareholders will reap the benefits of the commercial success of the museum.
“The early works date back to the 1960s and while the collection has a replacement value of around $9 million, the truth is, preserving and providing virtual access to the history of Australian design is priceless,” says Everett.
“The designs can be used to create retro or contemporary interpretations across diverse mediums such as fabrics, handbags, stationery, clothing, curtains, and jewellery.
“The potential applications are endless. Designers will think of new applications that have never existed before. Imagine seeing the designs on a massive scale as a façade on a building or on hoardings at a construction site.”
The process of digitising the original hand drawn designs and ultimately making them available in 3D form will take more than 12 months.
The designs are so intricate, many have up to seven layers that each need to be scanned separately to preserve the entire design, meticulously maintaining the imperfections only achieved from authentic, hand drawn designs.
Once digitised, the works will be housed via an architecturally designed virtual reality museum where visitors can touch a design and see it come to life.
Fashion houses, textile companies, designers, stylists, and the general public will eventually be able to access each of the 7,500 designs for commercial use.
David Lennie, director of the AMD, says: “Design history is considered very important in most developed countries throughout the world. Australia has a growing appreciation of the importance of design.
“The AMD is the first time someone has attempted to document, and record safely, the movement and changes of design. It is a safe place for artists to house their designs, and if desired, license them in our marketplace.”
Acclaimed fashion designer Akira Isogawa is in awe of what dwells within the Australian Museum of Design.
"It really is an Aladdin‘s Cave of lost artworks that have to be seen to be believed. These are gorgeous designs from the 60s 70s and 80s. It’s so exciting that Australia’s fashion community will be given access to all 7,500 designs once they have been digitally remastered.
"I was fortunate to work with similar designs at the start of my fashion career and am excited at the prospect for our next generation of designers to breathe new life into these timeless designs."
As well as restoration costs, the capital raised will help fund the production of a documentary showcasing how Australia’s largest body of Australian original hand drawn designs will be scanned, digitised and with help of the Powerhouse Museum, catalogued and made available for the rest of the world to access.
Australian Museum of Design will also select a limited range of the designs for sale via NFTs to help fund the museum.