ANITA DINEEN

"Design makes me tick and good or bad I see it in almost everything. Be it mechanics or marmalade, it’s the fine tolerances of quality and aesthetic that can make something ordinary extraordinary."

Anita’s eye for detail goes back as far as she can remember. As a very young child growing up on a sheep property in the north of Tasmania she recalls finding an old cowhide in the woolshed loft and carefully matching it with a rubbish bin to create a co-ordinated feel to her room. This almost innate ability to create aesthetic balance found greater expression through her love of learning new skills. Encouraged by enthusiastic parents, Anita dabbled and tinkered away in various disciplines refining her vision.

It was during the early 90s while at Art School in Launceston studying jewellery and sculpture that Anita discovered her affinity for working with metal. Completing her four years of study, she set up a studio in the Hunter Island Design Centre (now the Henry Jones Art Hotel) in Hobart. This was followed by an extended trip to see the world before returning to Hobart and establishing a new studio in the Salamanca Arts Centre.

Later, after moving back in Launceston, Anita’s frustration of using a pâté knife with no balance resulted in her winning both the 2009 Tasmanian Design Award and The People’s Choice Award for her creation, the ’Glide Gourmet Knife’.  The knife also represented a new direction for Anita – rather than being solely reliant on creating individual jewellery pieces she was now diversifying into creating something for which she could obtain a steady demand. This philosophy was also behind the ‘Slice Gourmet Knife’ that won the 2010 Tasmanian Design Award’s People’s Choice Award.

With her husband Luke, Anita is creating a new home and studio where she will continue to skillfully harness her ability to apply function to form through her designs that bridge a pleasing harmony between beauty and usefulness. In her own words she is a “maker of minor marvels”.

“I love how something so seemingly permanent and unyielding as metal is actually so pliable. It’s that apparent permanency of metal and knowing what I create is able to really last that thrills and inspires me to give considered thought to what I make and how I make it. It motivates me to explore the complexities and simplicities of what I’m designing and hope my creations will be handed through generations as something useful and beautiful.”

The Products

Glide Gourmet Knife : Mother Nature provided the inspiration for this award winning design from the ‘artist’s garden’. Taking its shape from the winged seed of the Sycamore tree, the hand crafted stainless steel knife is an elegant addition to any culinary setting.

Slice Gourmet Knife: Inspired by Tasmania’s native mouse, this sleek award winning design has been hand forged in high quality stainless steel.  It stands alone to bring balance and beauty to the table.