Meet Brett

Renaissance man

Aside from being a designer, he’s also a small business owner, art director who has dabbled in the film industry, backyard surfboard shaper, and semiprofessional knock-off beer drinker. Not to mention he’s also a dad to two future surfing prodigies. We stopped by his shop, The Alfresco Room, for some home design inspo and a chat.

What makes Noosa feel like home?

Noosa Is a small place really. Running small businesses, you have the opportunity to meet lots of locals and repeat visitors. That presence of familiar faces and the small things, like going down for a coffee or going for a surf, and bumping into people who you know - that really makes this place feel like home. So for me it’s that sense of community.

What does community feel like to you?

Knowing the people around you. It’s that close knit environment that keeps all of us considerate in our interactions because we all have that sense of connection.

Did you always know you were going to be a creator?

I was always kind of creative but I didn’t immediately feel drawn to fine art, I was more drawn to writing. However, when I started studying design it’s something that I fell in love with immediately. The opportunity to be creative but also deliver both practical and aesthetically pleasing solutions - that challenge of discovering the balance between the two - is what really turned the lights on for me.

Who has most inspired you creatively?

Many of my friends and family have been my biggest inspiration. They are fantastic artists, painters, architects and designers. Aside from them, just genuine, uninhibited people I’ve met along the way. People who have gone their own way, made decisions to take their own road and worked tirelessly to make their practice or business concept work. That demonstration of determination and belief is so important for any person in small business, design or creative.

How would you describe your aesthetic?

I love the feeling of classic, functional solutions - black and white photos, raw materials, natural palettes. I grew up in the country so I think being surrounded by that environment at an early age has imprinted a certain aesthetic into me.

Many of my friends and family have been my biggest inspiration... People who have gone their own way, made decisions to take their own road and worked tirelessly to make their practice or business concept work.

What is a typical day in your life like?

Wake up, get a coffee, check the surf. Surf or work on some new designs early while I’m fresh. After that, assemble some furniture and dispatch our deliveries for the day. I try to push meetings to afternoons and make sure to have free time to muck around with surfboards or photography projects or just chill in the backyard with a knock off beer. The day ends with reading books to the kids, checking Instagram, emails and looking for inspo for the next day.