The struggle is real for creative types trying to balance work and family life while still finding time for ‘passion projects’. There can be a real sense of isolation toiling at home after hours, as well as a loss of motivation when creations go unseen. For this quartet of designers – Kennedy Brown, Leon Kipa, Edward Fuller and Ron Crummer – the answer to this predicament was to join forces.

Much like a writers’ or book group, Dragonbox Design Group meets regularly to critique each other’s designs, support each other in the design process and generate opportunities to show and sell their work. The title ‘Dragonbox’ comes from the dragon that comes out of the matchbox in the iconic children’s book, The Lion in the Meadow.

“It is a metaphor for imagination, creativity and the idea that the smallest, most radical little concepts should never be discounted but instead harnessed and embraced,” says founding member Edward Fuller.

The group, which was formed in 2014, acts as a platform from which the four men can motivate each other. “We’ve found that working in collaboration is also a powerful motivator that encourages us to do more for the next meeting,” says Fuller.

Dragonbox recently presented their work at an exhibition called Locus: Converging Objects at Auckland’s Railway Studios in November 2017. All four designers work in three dimensions. Edward Fuller creates furniture pieces with plywood formed into angular shapes that converge to create structure. Kennedy Brown uses up-cycled wood to create furniture that often has a Pacific bent.

Ron Crummer creates quirky, colourful and beautiful homeware and furniture pieces from metal, fabric and timber. Leon Kipa creates sculptural pieces inspired by Māori legends and patterns, and by family members, such as his uncle who inspired the cast polyurethane figurine on this page.

We’re keeping these designers on our watchlist.