Celina Clarke is a Melbourne based Industrial Designer who co-founded ISM Objects in 1990.  She has a passion for contemporary design and architecture and has a keen interest in lighting space.

Her folio of design work includes packaging, furniture and home-wares but over the past 15 years she has specialized in luminaire design.

Together with Simon Christopher, their designs have won many awards and their work has been exhibited widely including at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.  Their design partnership successfully spans more than 20 years.

Celina continues to develop designs for ISM and has a particular interest in materials and manufacturing.  She enjoys the detailed design process of getting products to market and she has particularly enjoyed working with the Sparks designers. 

Simon was born and raised in Melbourne and completed a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design from RMIT in 1989.

After graduating he worked in exhibition and display design before joining forces with Celina Clarke to form ISM Objects and pursue their joint passion for furniture and home wares design.

Early design pieces by ISM explored environmental themes such as flat pack shipping, ease of assembly and disassembly, recycled and recyclable materials long before they became fashionable.  Their ‘Amazing Larry’ occasional table and ‘Madame Ruby’ lamp both received multiple awards and were also featured in design books and travelling exhibitions in Australia and abroad.

Focusing on lighting design since 1996 Simon has developed products for the ISM collection as well as collaborative designs for some of Australia’s most prestigious architects and interior designers.

In 2000 he relocated to Sydney to establish ISM’s NSW office and expand its design horizons, working closely with talented locals Trent Jansen, Rina Bernabei and Kelly Freeman.  He has a keen interest in contemporary art, design and architecture.

Daniel Barbera was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. As a child he was inspired by his father building and inventing various objects and contraptions, and so he spent most of his childhood in his workshop being creative and designing anything that came to mind.

Later he studied Industrial Design at Monash University, and completed a Bachelor of Technology / Industrial Design (Hons) 1999. After spending a year living in Europe, he returned to work at Map where he spent 3 years full time as a designer working on product development, and production.

Today, with BARBERA design, Daniel continues to work, freelancing for MAP, while also working on his own furniture and lighting projects. Having completed his SHADY lighting range, ISM objects have taken the range on and as his Australian lighting agent. MAP is an outlet for his Uccio range.

Inspired by physics, nature and beauty in the world, Daniel designs pieces which are functional, but not straight forward, have grace but without unnecessary excess and have a sense they are lost in time. Yet his work is also aware and dealing with the way today’s world over consumes throw away products. So Daniel aims to create pieces which have a slow life cycle (slow design).

Rina Bernabei and Kelly Freeman have been working together since 2000.  They have always been obsessed with decoration, the domestic interior and using materials in non-obvious ways.  Being industrial designers the two are excited by the challenge of mass manufacture and the modern day factory.

This has translated into a range of modern lighting and furniture that combines "brutal technical precision and delicate sensuality rolled into one". Their work has received several national awards, and been exhibited both locally and internationally, most recently in Zona Tortona at the Milan Furniture Fair, and at the Milan Triennale.

Since the two formed bernabeifreeman, they have always aimed to deliver a high design product, of the best possible quality for the domestic and commercial market.  Sustainability and product life cycle has always been part of their design process, right from the concept stage.

Rina and Kelly are always looking for opportunities to collaborate with manufacturers, play with new materials and expand their range both in Australia and abroad.  They are inspired by the potential of new design.

Christopher Connell has over twenty years’ experience as a designer of residential hospitality and retail interiors as well as in designing and manufacturing objects and furniture.

In addition to many residential projects, he has designed many favourite Melbourne dining and shopping spots which include Carousel, Mr. Wolf, Melbourne Wine Room, Pizza e Birra, Cafe Veloce, Pizza e Vino, the Prince Wine Store, Dinosaur Designs and Aquila as well as 8 over 8, E&O and the Great Eastern Dining Room in London.

Steven McClure has a Bachelor of Fine Art (RMIT University) with a Major in Ceramics and Sculpture.

He has been awarded the Craft Victoria Fresh 'John Pollock Prize' and the RMIT Department of Fine Art Potters Equipment Award. Steven’s ceramic lighting range ‘Stippled’ has been developed exclusively for ISM Objects using Southern Ice Porcelain. 

A skilled craftsman Steven forms each light by hand stating, "My greatest pleasure in making this work is to use porcelain in ways that give expression to the imperfect beauty and integrity of … material, process and human touch."

Studying engineering in England whilst working in the aerospace industry. Moving to the international automotive industry and spending 15 years developing advanced engine and control system technology. Traveling around the world to test vehicles and manage large engineering projects. Keith Melbourne has not followed a typical path into furniture and product design.

Leaving his engineering career behind in search of something more rewarding. In 2004 Keith signed on to study design in Western Australia. Immediately discovering a creative world that he loved, there was no going back.

Since changing career direction Keith has exhibited extensively and received a number of design awards. Believing strongly in the importance of the relationship between designer and manufacturer. He enjoys close collaboration with manufacturing companies, and their skilled workers, in order to develop his designs and bring them to the market.

His acclaimed work is clearly influenced by his diverse experiences, and seems to sit in a realm where engineering precision meets artistic creativity.

Christian Zinke and Robin Carpenter met during their studies at the University of the Arts Berlin, and founded their label Zinke/Carpenter in 2004.

Since then they have been working amongst others for clients such as Bugatti and Atari. Both work as individual freelance designers and join forces to promote their own designs. The pendant lamp Iro is the first of these designs shown on an international fair.