The wow factory

The sisters steering Zuster furniture brand put a creative spin on their own industrial zone.

DO YOU WORK FROM HOME OR THE OFFICE? We split our time working from our manufacturing base in Thomastown and the Zuster showroom office in Hawthorn. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORKSPACE? It is in one of our five Zuster manufacturing facilities all in the same street! Each is dedicated to a specific discipline including upholstery, bathroom and furniture to allow an unfiltered relationship between manufacturing and design. Our office is a creative environment overflowing with timber profiles, stone and metallics which can be used to develop prototypes almost instantly. Our current range, Adorn, draws inspiration from couture so there’s the odd piece of pleated or scalloped fabric too.

WHAT INITIALLY APPEALED TO YOU ABOUT THE SPACE? We initially set up the business in an old factory owned by our father who built kitchens and bathrooms. As the business grew, we went on to acquire four more buildings in the same street. We have invested in significant technological upgrades to ensure a more seamless translation from Wilhelmina’s creative vision to commercial reality.