Mark Lilly
Mark Lilly — 'Banksia Grandis' Bench, 2026
The Banksia Grandis series is an evolution of Mark’s exploration into Banksia seed pods as a furniture making material. Mark was first drawn to the material after the recent native logging ban in Western Australia, as well as the ongoing global sustainability concerns.
The banksia pods are a by-product of Banksia Grandis, a species endemic to Western Australia, and offer a renewable, alternative to standard timbers used in furniture-making. When first working with the material to create the Banksia Chair in 2024, Mark posited that not only are the banksia pods visually distinctive, but they have the potential to meet the demands of functional design and furniture production. The Banksia Grandis series develops this idea with a focussed, pragmatic approach. Although seemingly delicate and porous, the seeds are solid and heavy.
By lathe-turning and joining multiple banksia pods together, Mark works with their strength and suitability as structural components, such as spindle legs or backrests. For the exhibition, Mark has also developed a bio-based material collected from the fine, orange fibres produced when turning the seeds on the lathe and then mixed with an algae-based binder. This new material, waste of the waste, has been used in the lamp, A Fluffsmans Folly, as layered shingles, demonstrating potential applications and ensuring maximum material value of the banksia pod.
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Mark Lilly is a self-taught furniture maker and designer living in Boorloo/Perth, WA. Although he has been making furniture for over a decade, it took a move from London to Perth in 2018 for him to settle into his design sensibilities. He then established Manner Furniture to showcase his creative aspirations. The name Manner was chosen to reflect Mark’s approach to design. For him, design is less about what is done and more about how it is done and the manner in which it takes shape. Mark recently exhibited at the NGV in Making Good: Redesigning the Everyday and in 2025 he was runner-up in the esteemed Anibou Prize for his celebrated Banksia Chair.
Main Gallery
May 2 - June 27, 2026
Felled reimagines timber supply sources in contemporary woodworking practice. Seven makers and designers with a specialised knowledge of timber engage the material beyond newly processed, machined slabs and find possibilities in existing materials including timber waste and plant-debris as furniture and object-design making material.
Felled joins the discussion on practices of consumption through the exploration of a single material - timber. It considers the environmental impacts of extractive processes and positions new systems of working with existing materials. The exhibition celebrates makers and their specialised practices as invaluable thinkers. It is through small-scale studio practices where deep connections to and empathy with a material sparks innovation and new thinking.
Big ideas for a better future begin in the studio.
The exhibition forms part of Conscious Craft – a Craft Victoria initiative showcasing innovative creations by makers and designers who are actively considering sustainability and ethics in their production methods and use of materials.
This event is part of Melbourne Design Week 2026, an initiative of the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria
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Material: Banksia Grandis seed pods, Victorian Ash
Dimensions: approx. 390mm x 760mm x 1245mm (505mm seat height)
Please note when purchasing, exhibition works are to be collected when exhibition closes.
Shipping costs may be estimates. Please feel free to contact shop@craft.org.au who will be available to provide an Art Courier quote or shipping costs for larger items.