Banksia Chair
Currently on show at ‘Making Good: Redesigning the everyday’ at the National Gallery of Victoria until 1st Feb 2026.
Vessel
Manner was commissioned by Foolscap Studio to design and produce a reception desk and lamp to compliment their addition of an artist in residence studio to the Naval Store in Fremantle, WA.
Fruit (Bowl)
Taking it's shape from the iconic 'Snake Pit' skate bowl in Scarborough, this slightly smaller version still has all the right curves and lines.
Lotus wall sconce
A wall sconce version of the floor standing Lotus incense holder, available through the shop
Perforated shelving system
Private commision for a fold steel shelving system with perforated uprights that could accomodate power/cable routing through each shelf
Gradient
Gradient was a group furniture design exhibition curated by Mark Lilly of Manner, that was a part of Fremantle Design Week 2024, with the below concept:
Gradient invites a group of WA furniture designer/makers to showcase their perspective on change; between utility and art, the traditional and contemporary, the past and the future. The exhibition is a call to contemplate the roles that the objects we produce play in the lives of consumers, and how transitions in design, materials and concepts mirror ongoing shifts in society.
Designers must be reactive to an ever-shifting landscape of local and global manufacturing. The recent native timber logging ban, alongside the increasing cost of imported raw materials, leaves WA designers with their own set of conditions to navigate. In response, they craft new narratives and ways to work, whilst also being mindful of issues such as over-consumption and sustainability.
Gradient encourages us to see furniture not just as objects of use, but as active participants in the narrative of change, reflecting back at us our own adaptability, identity, and endless capacity for reinvention.
Aluminium and Jarrah shelving
Custom shelving solution combining a matt, scotched aluminium finish with a dark stained Jarrah
Banksia chair
In light of the recent WA native logging ban and global sustainability concerns, could we look to utilise a trees waste products as a furniture making material, instead of chopping down the tree itself? A chair was chosen to give form to this proposition taking the beautifully intricate discarded seed pods of Banksia Grandis (a species endemic to WA) and using traditional joinery methods to create a new vernacular material language. The chair as a typology in itself was a declaration that not only is this a visually intriguing material, it is also capable of meeting the demands of functional design.
The Banksia chair was produced for ‘Gradient’, an exhibition curated by Mark Lilly of Manner for Fremantle Design Week 2024. It has since gone on to win second prize at the Anibou emerging designers award, as well as being exhibited at the NGV for their ‘Making Good: Redesigning the everyday’ exhibition.
Lotus incence holder
The idea for the piece came about after an encounter with a vintage floor-standing ashtray. This seemingly outdated typology presented an opportunity to craft a new narrative for the form, one centred around themes of wellness and ceremony.
The design utilises a hand carving technique to evoke the form of a dried Lotus pod, a symbol associated with purity and enlightenment in many cultures. The top section is detachable so it can be used in a tabletop manner, as well as for the cleaning of ash.
Gridded terracotta lamp
After utilising recycled terracotta drainage pipes for the Vessel reception desk commission, further experiments were made with the material that resulted in an ongoing series of lamps that have gridded patterns carved into the reused water pipes
Manner chore jacket
A chore jacket made from scratch for installs
Lotus incense holder
A walnut Lotus being on the lathe in the workshop
Studio P shelving
Bespoke Tasmanian oak shelving unit with orange particle board inserts that can be used as a plinth, a tray, or a backdrop to highlight ceramic pieces depending on the orientation of the insert.
Banksia plinth
Custom commission for a plinth based on the Banksia chair’s use of the seed pods
Scarborough bowl coffee table
A coffee table that mimics the iconic silhouette of the ‘snake pit’ skate bowl down in Scarbrough
Mark Lilly is a self-taught designer/maker living in Perth, WA. Although he has been making furniture for over a decade, it took a move from London to Perth in 2018 for him to settle into his design sensibilities, and soon after Manner was created to showcase his creative aspirations.
The name Manner was chosen to reflect Mark Lilly’s approach to design. For him, design is less about what is done and more about how it is done and the manner in which it takes shape.
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May 2025 - Anibou emerging designers award - Second prize
July 2024 - Judges Commendation for ‘Lotus’ at VIVID Emerging Designers Awards
July 2024 - Finalist for ‘Lotus’ in Object, Furniture & Lighting – Professional Australian Design Review
RECOGNITION
August 2025 - Making Good: Redesigning the everyday - NGV Australia (group show)
May 2025 - Anibou prize exhibition - Anibou, Melbourne for Melbourne Design Week (group show)
May 2025 - First Touch - Pop-up exhibition for Melbourne Design Week (group show)
Nov 2024 - Interior - Midland Junction Arts Centre (group show)
Oct 2024 - Gradient - Fremantle Design Week (group show)
July 2024 - VIVID Emerging Designers, Melbourne (group show)