Really likes wood that looks good.
Alexsandra Pontonio is a furniture designer and maker from Melbourne, Australia. Her studio is currently based at the Victorian Woodworkers Association workshop in Melbourne’s Meat Market arts precinct.
With a practice equally dedicated to designing and making, Alex builds furniture with keen details and timeless quality.
Awards
2021 —
Finalist, Victorian Craft Awards, Craft Victoria
2021 —
Winner Chests, Cabinets and Shelving, Maker of the Year Award, Australian Wood Review
Finalist, Victorian Craft Award, Craft Victoria
2020 —
Runner-up Furniture, Maker of The Year Award, Australian Wood Review
2017 —
Semi-Finalist, Victorian Young Achiever of the Year Award, Arts and Fashion
2016 —
Melbourne Movement Member
Future Leaders Prize, 'Fresh!', Craft Victoria, Melbourne
'Highly Commended in the category of Furniture, Design Institute of Australia 2015 GOTYA Award (VICTAS)
Vivid Design Award Finalist, Decor and Design, Melbourne
Tait Award for Design Innovation, Fringe Furniture, Melbourne
Press
The Block, Chanel Nine, Season 14, Episode 14 Living & Dining Reveal, Aired September 9 2018
Timbecon, ‘2018/19 Product Catalogue, Front Cover, 2018
The Design Files, Sally Tabart, ‘Meet Manapan, Furniture Makers in Arnhem Land’, June 15 2018
The Smith Journal Volume 29, Oliver Gordon, ‘Cabinet Ministers’, Page 109, March 2018
Sydney Morning Herald, Stephen Crafti, 'Gallery space mixes indigenous art with designer furniture', March 3 2018
Sydney Morning Herald, Stephen Crafti, 'Cutting-edge furniture design meets Aboriginal creativity on Milingimbi Island', December 29 2018
Wood Review Edition 97, Australian Wood Review, ‘Manapan Means Together’, November 17 2017
Australian House & Garden, 'Decor and Design 2016', Page 122, October 2016
Tait, 'Fringe Furniture 2016', September 18 2016
Sydney Morning Herald, Ray Edgar, 'Fringe Furniture 2016 celebrates 30 years of playful design', September 9 2016
The West Australian, Cy Clayton, 'Australia’s best emerging designers recognised', July 25 2016
Furniture Today, 'Emerging Talent In The Spotlight At Décor + Design Year's Challenge', July 25 2016
Architecture and Design, Nicholas Rider 'Australia's best new furniture designs revealed at Vivid', July 22 2016
Sydney Morning Herald, Penny Webb, 'Designers of the Future Honoured at Craft Showcase Fresh!' April 21 2016
Yellow Trace, Dana Tomic Hughes, 'Brightest Young Talent at Salone Satellite', May 30 2016
More Space, 'Where to see Australian design at Milan Design Week 2016', April 11 2016
Exhibitions
2022—
Victorian Craft Awards, Craft Victoria, Melbourne
2021 —
Future Remains, Craft Victoria, Melbourne
2019 —
Salone Del Mobile Milano, Fire Sideboard for Manapan Furniture, Milan
2018 —
DEN Fair, Fire Sideboard for Manapan Furniture, Melbourne
2016 —
Fresh!, Craft Victoria, Melbourne
Salone Satellite, Melbourne Movement, Salone Del Mobile Milano, Milan
Vivid Design Competition, Vivid Decor and Design, Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Melbourne
Fringe Furniture 30: Redesign, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne
At Home: Modern Australian Design, Old Government House, Sydney
2015 —
Cut to the Chaise, RMIT Design Hub, Melbourne
Fringe Furniture: Between the Lines, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne