Furniture brand Koala is keeping the Aussie vibe alive with its new stylish homewares collection, designed with the planet in mind.
Launched last week, its first foray into homewares includes a collection of 34 unique pieces, ranging from cushions to throws as well as the first wool rug range in Australia to use certified responsible wool.
Koala’s founder and CEO, Mitch Taylor, says the expansion into homewares is one of its most exciting yet.
“Homewares as a category is traditionally the pinnacle of ‘fast furniture’, so the challenge of revolutionising the industry excited us,” he explains.
“Koala first disrupted the mattress industry by cutting out the middleman and then the furniture industry by creating furniture built to last, and now we’ve done it again with homewares. By taking our model of success, we’ve been able to change how Aussies enjoy cushions, rugs and throws with pieces that are sustainable from the start.”
Each cushion, throw and rug has been influenced by the Australian lifestyle, flora and fauna, art or culture. Koala’s in-house designers worked on every single piece from scratch, before turning them over to craftsmen and women in India to produce one-of-a-kind pieces.
Design director, Alexandra Owen, says years of research and development went into creating these life-proof pieces, with a focus on materials and construction techniques including blended or 100 per cent OCS organic cotton, which passed vigorous chop tests and sustainability measures.
“With homewares, we want to celebrate Koala’s uniqueness whilst doing something meaningful and timeless for the brand,” she enthuses.
“We’ve created a real sense of something special you can’t get anywhere else, with all colours and material finishes inspired by the Australian landscape, from outback red dirt to beautiful coral reefs.”
Koala has also released a collection of rugs created from 100 per cent PET recycled plastic bottles, preventing around half a million bottles from ending up in our oceans and landfill.
