Henry Wilson is a designer living and working in Sydney. He studied at the Australian National University School of Art in Canberra, graduating with first class honours in visual arts, specialising in woodwork. During his time at ANU I went on exchange to Rhode Island School of Design. He then moved to Europe to do my Masters at the Design Academy Eindhoven before returning to Sydney to set up my own studio in 2012.

Henry designs furniture, lighting, accessories and components, working together with a range of suppliers and manufacturers. In particular, he has built a close relationship with a local foundry for cast elements in bronze and aluminium. He sells his work directly and in a number of design showrooms around the world. In addition, he has designed the interior for two Aesop stores in Sydney.

Henry's work combines a rational, democratic utility with an element of sculptural expression. There is a clear form and function in his products, but it’s important they also have feeling. He is interested in the awkward beauty that comes from something made by hand. He likes to explore how imperfection can be introduced into an industrial process, to make something at scale that retains a sense of individual charm.

During his time in Europe Henry was fascinated by the flea markets in the Netherlands and Germany. Discovering well-made things from the past was like tracing ancestors of contemporary design. He talks about the anthropology of design, recognising that it has a linear narrative and that ideas today are developments of those that have come before. He understands design to be an evolutionary process of refining, learning and improving. Well-made things last. Henry believes this is one of the simpler forms of sustainability that designers today can hope to achieve.