The Society inc. is a design studio & retail shop based in Sydney, Australia.They specialize in hospitality interiors, product development, branding & global sourcing. The Society inc's elements of retail, wholesale, books & interior design are captained by Sibella Court.
With Sibella's degree in History, her spaces & product design draw on both the true & make-believe to create unique interiors that delight patrons & guests, showcasing her attention to detail & immersive style achieved through her imagination & black book of specialty trades.
They pride themselves on working with masters of their craft to create bespoke detail-orientated products. Sibella's black book, collated over a 20+ year styling career, includes blacksmiths, sign-writers, scenic painters, architects, antique dealers, pickers, artisans, dyers, weavers, landscape designers, horticulturists, builders & all the other specialty trades that give each project that distinct Sibella mark.
What inspired you to start The Society inc?
When I travelled to New York I would stay at The Gramercy Park Hotel for long stints whilst working on photo shoots and loved to wander this old-fashioned leafy pocket of NYC.
I would peer in the huge first floor parlour windows of the brown stones that line it - many of them are old members clubs and you could see people milling, scheming & conspiring - I wanted to create a ‘society’ where people of the same ilk could come & go, exchange ideas, experiment & toss around crazy ideas, more imaginarium than brownstone, forever changing & never finished, full of magic & fantasy.
My love of history, particularly the year 1856, The Royal Society & its ‘experimental gentlemen’ are also key in the concept of The Society inc. They include some of my favourite historical figures: Charles Darwin, Joseph Banks, William Dampier, John Bartram & Peter Collinson, who were either members or were desperate to be members!
What values drive you in your day to day business?
Curiosity is embedded into the DNA of The Society inc. It’s an imaginarium that celebrates the romance & nostalgia of history, the celebration of heritage trades and the use of materials that patina with age, grace with use and become embedded with people’s stories. The age-old approaches of material recovery and resourcefulness have been a guiding light for our sustainability ethos, and we manufacture with technical nutrients as much as possible - materials that can be retrieved & reused in a continuous cycle.
How do you decide on a visual direction for the brand?
All makers' marks spark my imagination, the remnants of who tinkered, smithed or sculptured. I adopted the shield shape as my own maker's mark when I conjured up The Society inc, like an old-fashioned club that has an emblem or symbol recognisable to its members.
As the core visual cue in the brand identity, the shield filters throughout The Society inc’s product design and in-house editorial content in various mediums & materials, harking back to the concept of a makers mark. Similarly I try to imbue a hand-touched finish throughout our visuals and brand identity - textured, layered, not too polished or perfect, hand drawn or stamped.
How do you see your personal lifestyle reflected in the brand you've built?
My passion for history & design is the binding force between my lifestyle & The Society inc. Curiosity is key and I often embark into many rabbit holes that then spark new ideas & provide inspiration for my product collection. As a globetrotter, my travels always inform my design work whether it be by discovering materials, sourcing new makers or learning new techniques.
How do you balance work and rest?
The creative & curious mind never rests! However, I do live in the most beautiful part of the world (Bundeena, NSW), and manage to deep dive into nature on the weekends and in between travel with much bushwalking, swimming, paddle boarding and boating. My tangents of paint making, photography, research, natural fragrance and other craft endeavours also keep my mind restful.
