This Melbourne Designer Creates Seriously Sleek Stainless-Steel Furniture
Studio Visit
Malli’s debut Flush collection.
Flush Side Table by Malli.
Malli founder and designer Goodie in his Melbourne workshop.
Goodie has been honing his craft in metal fabrication for the past few years.
‘I struggle creating the abstract, weird and wild, but I will pace up and down my studio for hours on end, racking my brain over fractions of millimetres,’ Goodie says.
The metal sheets are laser cut before being carefully assembled like a puzzle, clamped, and welded together.
Stainless pieces are polished with a directional or radial grain, while coloured pieces are sanded, prepped, and powder-coated in the desired colour.
Most pieces of furniture that wind up in share houses have a story behind them; maybe your friend found their leather sofa on the side of the road, or a second-hand dining table that’s literally on its last legs.
It’s a rite of passage. But sometimes, it’s worth investing in a well-made piece. This was the inspiration behind emerging furniture brand Malli.
‘When I began creating this collection, I was living in a share house in Fitzroy North with typical share house furniture. I wanted to challenge myself to design stylish, accessible pieces that could seamlessly fit into any environment,’ designer and founder Goodie says.
The Melbourne-based maker is an industrial designer who started his own metal fabrication business, Substraight, a few years ago.
Working exclusively with stainless steel and aluminium from his Brunswick studio, Goodie now specialises in high-end architectural metal fabrication and design, working for a mix of commercial clients across Melbourne.
But the recent launch of Malli has allowed him to focus on bringing his own concepts to life, which Goodie says gives him ‘the best of both worlds’.
The debut collection called ‘Flush‘ features four ultra-cool, minimalistic pieces: a console; a side table; a coffee table; and a shelf.
Each is assembled a bit like a jigsaw puzzle of stainless-steel tubes — topped with laser-cut sheets as thin as 4 millimetres — that are seamlessly welded together. Each piece is made-to-order, and customers can pick from a range of powder coat colours, including cobalt blue, green, and chrome, or embrace the modern look of brushed stainless steel.
Looking at the collection’s impressively clean lines, it’s clear Goodie is meticulous about his craft.
‘I will pace up and down my studio for hours on end, racking my brain over fractions of millimetres,’ he says of his process. ‘Whether or not you love the aesthetic of my work, you can’t deny how close to perfect the fabrication is.’
The resulting designs feel both cutting edge and timeless, and in line with Goodie’s commitment to creating high-quality furniture, every purchase comes with a lifetime warranty.
‘My hope is that this ensures each customer can enjoy their furniture for many years and across many new homes,’ he says.
‘For the next collection, I’m expanding in both directions — introducing larger pieces to curate a space around, as well as smaller pieces that everyone can enjoy.’