A PIONEERING SPIRIT
Welcome to the James Stewart blog and news page.
Our Royce chair is a masterclass in James Stewart’s approach to the craft of making. Each component of the chair – from its brushed stainless-steel cantilevered frame to its Italian-finished aniline leather – is crafted by hand using simple tools and time-honoured techniques. It is a complex and labour-intensive process, but the traditional method has tried-and-tested – and treasured – results.
Read MoreRecognising quality, luxury and beauty in leather is only partially due to our visual experience. One of our strongest emotional triggers is our sense of touch, which is why the softness and supple ‘hand’ (feel) registered in our sensory minds, lingers longest. We appreciate that our furniture is selected on the basis of style (look), tactility (touch) and those enduring qualities that evoke positive memory associations through smell and sense of comfort.
Read MoreJames and Alexander Stewart – lovers of adventure and the finer things in life – were the sons of a Scottish haberdasher. Their enterprising spirit brought them to Australia to open a draper’s store on Brisbane’s Queen Street in 1860. Later it would become one of the country’s first department stores. James (known as ‘Jimmy’) went on to open several more stores, including James Stewart & Co. in Rockhampton, which remains operating today.
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