Dan Barker of Bricolage

Dan Barker was once a skydiving instructor.

For over 10 years, he would jump out of planes with adrenaline pumping through his veins, but the freedom of falling just wasn’t enough. Having dabbled in building and carpentry in his spare time, Barker felt it was time to follow his dreams and begin building furniture permanently.

He established his own business, Monkey Gone To Heaven, and knew that he had finally landed in the right industry. Over the years, however, as his skills and creative ideas evolved another change was due for Barker’s career. And that change was in the name and identity of his business.

“That was a long process and hard decision to make. But I feel that as my products have developed over the years, they’ve grown further and further away from the personality of Monkey Gone to Heaven which was fun and playful,” he says.

Located in Brunswick, Melbourne, Bricolage is Barker’s answer to this personality shift. The vision, he describes, has never changed and at Bricolage, he continues to create pieces that are unique and beautiful.

His design aesthetic is driven by accents of minimalism, functionality and simplicity. It is no surprise then, that this aesthetic is attributed to his admiration for Danish and Japanese architecture and design.

“What I admire about the Danish and Japanese is the incredible simplicity in their design and their ability to build a highly functional object with the bare minimum,” he explains.

While his work may pick up Danish and Japanese themes, the inspiration for his work comes from a much larger sphere of creatives. Regardless of their respective disciplines, Barker is inspired by others’ drive to create unique and beautiful objects.

“I’m inspired by everybody that makes and creates. Every industry included, whether it’s chefs, artists or musicians. Anyone who puts their heart and soul into their passion is what keeps me going.”

Designing bespoke furniture requires passion, patience and planning. Barker explains that while every commission takes on a life of its own, those three aspects are always present in the design process, ensuring each piece is consistently beautiful.

His design process is simple. After meeting with a new client, they discuss motivations and ideas about what they like and ultimately, what the envisioned finished piece looks like.

“We just bounce a few concepts off each other and I draw some sketches, then I amend them and draw more sketches, and I basically keep drawing for them. Wherever we end up after that, that’s where we go from,” he explains.

While this process can take anywhere from 2 days to 2 months, clients can be assured that the experience of working with Barker will involve a creative relationship tailored to their needs and ideas, and of course, a custom built piece of furniture they will cherish forever.

A true lover of the materials he works with, Barker’s passion for timber is evident not only in his work but also in the way he describes the form and function of this versatile material.

“Timber is incredible. It has such a warmth and comfort to it that I don’t really think any other material provides. It tells stories and ages with you and it also grows nostalgia.”

With a heavy focus on sourcing local and ethically sustainable materials, Barker uses reclaimed or recycled timber for most commissions. He also sources live slabs from Wandin in Victoria from a miller with over 40 years experience in the industry.

Although timber is at the heart of each of his pieces, Barker is currently working on expanding his repertoire by exploring bronze hardware. Working alongside his friend Bruce Bruce Grillmeier, the two are collaborating on creating objects and nuanced features he can implement into his furniture.

“Bruce has a foundry, so together we are creating bronze hardware which is a very interesting process to be a part of. I’m learning how to work with it and how I can use it in my work. It’s very important to me that I can source as many locally produced materials as I can to put into my furniture,” he says.

For Barker, the freedom he has been able to experience with Bricolage is the ultimate reward to offering a fully customized service to clients. As a creative, he believes it is imperative to keep ideas flowing and his imagination alive in order to design and create.

The notion of custom-made objects is highly regarded by Barker and he believes there is a continuing push for the creation of these products in Australia.

“People are beginning to realise the value of ‘custom made’ in a lifelong investment as opposed to a lot of the throwaway stuff we’re used to. I think people want to know the backstory of their products, and that it’s come from a local maker,” he explains.

The vision at Bricolage is to create not just furniture but artwork, and every single piece created by Barker is testament to this vision. The craftsmanship is exceptional with an attention to detail that drives subtleties in his work, from grooves in the timber to brass elements.

“I want my furniture to be just as special an artwork as the art you may hang on your wall. It needs to be incredibly beautiful and functional. I put little subtleties into my work so that the furniture can reveal itself after time.”

The future at Bricolage, as Barker explains, is very exciting. He intends on collaborating with other local makers as well as exploring new materials such as bronze casting, which is sure to open up a number of new avenues for the Brunswick creative.

With a growing client base and his feet now planted solid on the ground, it is unlikely he will return to the sky any time soon.

“I was filling in for someone skydiving in Adelaide a couple of months ago. We had the most beautiful conditions, the passengers were amazing and we had new skydive gear, but I was still flying around wanting to be back in the workshop.”

Head over to Dan’s new website here to see more of his work.

Photographed by Lillie Thompson.

Words by Alana Perrin.