Nicola Cerini hit the ground running from her Flinders Lane studio when Melbourne women fell in love with her native flora prints on handbags.
Nicola’s early childhood immersed in nature is one of the key inspirations for her design practice. Capturing the beauty of the natural world as an innovator of textiles and product design led Nicola to establish design studio soon after graduating from RMIT in 1991.
Her distinctive brand quickly evolved and now focusses on creating nature-inspired, biophilic design for products, interiors, urban and public spaces, aiming to connect people with nature.
She collaborates with designers, clients and companies applying her imagery to a broad range of products, from bags to floor rugs to building facades.
Nicola grew up surrounded by nature and art in a landscape dominated by an ancient volcano, Tower Hill, in south west Victoria. Her father worked to bring native vegetation back to Tower Hill while her mother studied Fine Art majoring in Printmaking. In the 1950’s & 60’s Nicola’s great aunt and painter, Joyce Thompson freelanced as a Textile Designer in Melbourne’s thriving textile hub, Flinders Lane, which would later become Nicola’s home and studio.
These early influences collided and Nicola set off to study Textile Design at RMIT with a passion for all things natural. Her childhood experiences immersed in nature inspired the designs adorning her signature handbags and became a zeitgeist in Melbourne’s alternative fashion scene.
Combining a unique Australian style while drawing on the simplicity of the Japanese aesthetic, Nicola’s philosophy emphasizes beauty, practicality, high-quality, natural and durable materials, locally made where possible, with an ethical and environmental conscience. By utilising natural elements, patterns and materials, Nicola’s work creates a distinct sense of place and connectedness.
‘Infusing natural themes into our lives and surrounding ourselves with elements and images of nature has been shown to improve people’s well-being, having a biophilic effect’
Her immediate surroundings, love of nature, travel and passion for Australia’s native flora and wildlife are a never-ending resource and inspiration.
Nicola collaborates and licenses designs for a range of products with companies including The Rug Collection, Zaishu and Ashdene. Get in touch if you have a licensing project in mind!
Nicola brings a breadth of experience an across a number of mediums, including design, fabrication and visual art.
‘I love creating work for a range of applications. From product design to works on an architectural scale, the principles of design are the same’
Large scale artwork and design concepts have been produced for architects, public and private clients such as Work safe and Ballarat Health Services. Nicola works closely with clients to create rich, engaging concepts while understanding the importance of meeting the practical requirements of each project. Design projects are informed by research into the site and environment, along with meaningful consultations with local community and the project’s stakeholders.
Get in touch if you have a project in mind or click through to Projects for more examples.
Since 1989, with over two million trees having been planted, TreeProject is sowing the seeds for a sustainable future.
TreeProject is a non-pro fitable (Charitable), non-government, volunteer-based organisation leading the way in sustainable re-vegetation throughout Victoria by providing low cost indigenous seedlings to landholders.
Since 2003, Nicola Cerini has been a supporter of the TreeProject, champions of land re-vegetation in Victoria.
BUSINESS
Nicola Cerini Australia– design and manufacture of hand bags, fashion and homewares.
NCA brand licensed extensively in gift and homeware markets.
AWARDS/ RESIDENCIES
Australia Council Residency; Barcelona, Spain
Finalist- Cecily and Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award, NGV
Broken Hill Residency, Regional Arts NSW
The Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia USA: Summer Apprenticeship
COLLECTIONS
National Gallery of Victoria
Museum Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
EXHIBITIONS
National Gallery of Victoria
Museum Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
LECTURING/
MENTORING
Lecturer RMIT & Melbourne College of Textiles: Screen Printing
Mentor to undergraduate students and interns
Screen Printing Workshop Series, Abbotsford Convent & Meat Market Craft Centre
Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada: Assistant to Inuit Artists from the North West Territories, Summer Residency Program. Worked with artists to translate drawn images into the medium of printed textiles
Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada: Arts Studio Assistant. Worked directly with resident international artists in the realisation of a myriad of artistic projects.
INNOVATION
Experimental background with materials and manufacturing processes.
Introduced the original concept of combining PVC with printed fabric in the manufacture of bags.