The Billy Collection by Tait
Tait has worked with famed Australian industrial designer Adam Goodrum for the new Billy collection, a range of premium outdoor furniture with a nostalgic playfulness at its heart.
There’s a deep sense of nostalgia about Tait’s newest range, Billy, a collaboration between the Australian outdoor furniture specialist and renowned industrial designer Adam Goodrum. Classic homemade billy carts, iconic Hills Hoists and the curvaceous form of above-ground-pool ladders – very familiar to a generation of Australians who grew up in the 1960s and ’70s – were all touchpoints for the collection.
“Billy was born from concepts around nostalgic reflection and playfulness, and experimentation with texture, tubular transitions and high performance,” says Susan Tait, the brand’s co-founder and creative director. “The result is a collection that is thoughtfully ergonomic and versatile, with an aesthetic refinement.
“With a resolute aim of using our local manufacturing capabilities, underpinned by a commitment to high performance and sustainability, Adam and our Design Studio have created a collection that etches out simple structural forms alongside complex mechanisms that enhance ergonomic functionality.”
Billy comprises a sunlounge, two dining tables, a dining chair, lounger, stool/side table and bar cart, constructed from electro-polished or powder-coated aluminium and Accoya timber, with features like the free-form tubular frames and outsize wheels a reflection of the thoughtfully crafted work of Adam, who prioritised comfort when creating Billy. “The pieces are very comfortable … and the collection has a relaxed but robust aesthetic and a nod to the past,” he says. Gordon Tait, Tait’s founding director, adds that the resolved collection – one of the brand’s largest – “embodies thoughtful ergonomics and versatility, created for a smaller footprint and designed for a life outside.”
The aluminium pieces are available in 20 colour options and the Accoya timber in six coloured stains (created using environmentally sustainable oils), including a new hue, mountain blue, which joins existing shades such as paperbark, ocean blue, banksia, sunshine and pale eucalypt. They all contribute to a “calming and versatile palette that’s found in the Australian landscape and which so comfortably finds a home in outdoor living spaces,” says Susan.
Hand-crafted from sustainable materials and manufactured in the company’s Melbourne factory, the Billy collection is “comfortable, aesthetically beautiful and resolved,” she says. “And the new mountain blue colour contributes yet another layer to the story that the entire colour range is telling. This is a collection with exciting scope and versatility … and we think it’s very special.”