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The History of The Society inc.

Fifteen years ago, I established The Society inc.

Come with me on a trip through time and around the globe, as we look back over this journey of magic, make-believe, history & hard work, all leading to a destination full of passion and creativity

 

Snow

 

 

Where it all Began

I have always been a finder, keeper & curator of collections & beautiful things, right from the time I was a small child. I created my first collections at around the age of three or four and I still have them now. I have always enjoyed having my things around me, out on show and ready for their story to be told, so when I was a history student at Sydney Uni and the invitation from my dear friend Edwina McCann (then fashion assistant) to help out in the Vogue office, I jumped at it. Although fashion wasn’t for me, interiors & food were and I loitered around the offices of Vogue Living & Entertaining and began my long career in prop styling & set building at age 20 . But it wasn’t long before NYC called…

 

 

The Idea is Born | NYC

Prior to finding a permanent home in NYC, I would stay at The Gramercy Park Hotel for long stints whilst working on shoots and I spent countless hours wandering this leafy part of the city. I would peer in the huge windows of the brownstones that line the park. Many of these buildings are home to old clubs, and in the evening I’d catch enticing glimpses of people milling, scheming & conspiring inside. This was when the idea of establishing my own society first came to me. But it wasn’t to be quite yet…

The Return to Sydney

After 10 years in NYC, I was home in Sydney for a holiday…and decided not to leave. The sun, the sand and the call of my home were too strong to ignore. I realised that rather than creating my society in NYC, it could be based in my home town instead.

The Paddington Store

I found & bought a beautiful 1860’s corner terrace in Paddington in 2008. From the first moment, I knew it would be the perfect clubhouse for The Society inc. It housed my shop downstairs & my design studio upstairs. I loved having a creative space I could fill with my favourite things, including hardware and homewares I’d designed and those I’d found in treasure-hunting adventures that traversed the globe. For the first couple of years I would change the theme every 3 months to match a new paint collection I had created for Murobond

The Story of the Shield

The idea of the shield emblem can be traced back to Sibella's school days. With a newly launched shop in Paddington, and a paint range on the way with Murobond, Sibella found herself in need of a logo. Of course it had to be something meaningful and magical. Read more about it here 

India & Anthropologie

One day I was travelling in India with my collaborators at Anthropologie, rummaging around a dusty warehouse full of antiques & hardware when inspiration struck. I pencilled up some ideas for a decorative hardware range that would be perfect for Anthropologie’s stores. Not long later, I found myself perched atop a brightly painted elephant bedecked with leis (both me and the elephant) to celebrate the day my designs went into production for the very first time.
Forest

It was during this time that I developed my first Hardware Range and some of these items you may recognise now. Seafaring notions always make my imagination run free and I like being reminded of them wherever I can. The hardware range since this point has grown tremendously,

Explore Our Collection Here

 

Where we are today

Snow
Today The Society inc calls a rambling 300m2 St Peters warehouse home. Furniture, textiles, books, homewares, art, and an ever-changing display of oddities & curiosities jostle for space in a inner-city, brick building steeped in history and nostalgia, right up to its herringbone joists. From here, I work on interior designs, product designs for my hardware range as wella s collaborations with Australian makers of tiles,paint, outdoor furniture, upholstered lounges, fabric & wallpaper, and the hardy crew I captain make my website, , travel, design endeavours, shop, sales, photo shoots & endless content sail smoothly. It’s a chaotic mix of history and colour and design, always changing, always growing.
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