In the lead up to Sentimental Pull, a collaborative exhibition between Melbourne design studio, Streifen, and Leonard Joel, our Modern Design Specialist, Rebecca Stormont, chats with designers Madeleine Murdoch and Frances Normoyle about their process, inspirations, and new collection.
I would love to know more about Streifen and the pieces in this collection – where do you draw inspiration? Was there a particular story, theme, or material that led the design process?
Streifen always begins with feeling. We are both deeply sensitive people, and our practice is led from that place; instinctive, intuitive, and emotionally driven. Having been close friends for over ten years, we’ve built a shared internal language and a private world of references. We trust ideas that might feel too emotional, too personal, or too indulgent elsewhere. When we begin a design process, we often arrive with an uncanny parity in our sources and inspirations. Our inspirations span a wide range of sources; a piece of writing or music, a remnant of fabric found at an antique market, or the permanence of wrought iron furniture from Frances’ father’s blacksmithing archive. These references are not prescriptive to the visualisation of our work, but they form an emotional scaffolding. From there, everything is built around how we want someone to feel in the presence of the object. Sentimental Pull brings together our body of work to date, spanning four collections produced over a three-year period, complemented and contextualised by antique and vintage pieces carefully selected from Leonard Joel. While each of our collections carries its own distinct identity, they are united by a shared preoccupation with emotional resonance. At the core, we want the work to do something quietly powerful: to sit in a room and subtly alter how you feel in your body. If someone senses something before they can name it, then the piece has done its job.
Is there a design period or particular designer you feel a connection to?
We’re drawn to people with conviction. Work that feels decided, not negotiated. Charlotte Perriand, Eileen Gray, and Aino Aalto all sit in that space for us. Their work feels clear and grounded. You can sense the confidence in the decisions, even when the work is quiet. Nothing feels overworked or softened to be more palatable. Outside of design, Madeleine is deeply influenced by David Lynch. His worlds feel fully formed and uncompromising. Frances shares a similar infatuation with artists like Rosalía and Alexander McQueen. What draws us to them is the same thing: relentlessness. An unadulterated commitment to a vision, pursued so fully it becomes overwhelming.
What materials did you choose for this collection and why?
Patinated metals, woven leather, horsehair, chainmaille. Each material was chosen for its tactility, its weight, its ability to age and soften. Nothing is decorative for the sake of it. It all needs to contribute to the feeling.
Incorporating antique and vintage items into an exhibition alongside your new collection feels intuitive. These pieces carry historical narratives and evoke emotional connections. I think, and perhaps our readers will agree, that the process of acquiring an item through auction has the potential to further deepen an object’s personal significance. With that in mind, what would each of you be most likely to get carried away bidding on if you spotted it in an auction catalogue?
Frances – I have a real affection for antique Korean jewellery boxes. Just when I’m convinced I’ve found one so extraordinary it couldn’t possibly be surpassed, I come across another that feels even more exquisite. The intricacy of the hinges, the sleek black lacquer, the extravagant tassels, everything is delicate, but also perfectly uniform and sharp.
I’m always drawn to that tension: ornate detail held against something hard-edged and architectural. It feels like an appetite I can’t quite satiate. And there’s something about encountering a piece like that unexpectedly, the instant sense of recognition, of excitement, where you feel certain it must belong to you.
Madeleine – I think about the Transat Lounge by Eileen Gray often. Precise and restrained, it distils the logic of a deck chair into something architectural. Low-slung, a little severe, and undeniably sexy. I’d take two, most likely in black with metal hardware. And I love textiles, so I’m always drawn to rugs. Anything aged, worn in, or storied usually ends up speaking to me most.
Sentimental Pull by Streifen x Leonard Joel is showing upstairs at the St. Agni Armadale boutique, 1037 High St, Armadale VIC, from 12 – 22 March.
Learn more at streifen.co and follow on Instagram @streifen._
By Rebecca Stormont, Modern Design Specialist
Top Image: Streifen designers Madeleine Murdoch and Frances Normoyle, wearing St. Agni
February 2026