MDW | But Wait, There’s More

Presented by Marlo Lyda.

But wait – there’s more. Toile.

As an ongoing study in fabric, Toile unfolds as a series of sculptural lighting works conceived as final drafts – pieces caught mid-process, where traditional shade-making is reworked to reveal its construction, seams and all. Human in scale, they lean and cluster with a quiet humour, as if sharing a secret.

Set within a historic backdrop, this iteration introduces new additions to the family: Minis and Matriarchs. Small table lamps and oversized pendant forms expand the collection through contrast – shifting scale while opening into a more expressive language of colour and spontaneity, drawn from vibrant silks, vintage embroidered fabrics, and the humble calico. Each piece is hand-stitched, with irregular panels tailored toward nuance rather than uniformity.

Presented within Abbotsford Convent’s Industrial School for Melbourne Design Week, Toile invites visitors to move among the works – companions in a space, in the process of becoming.

About

Marlo Lyda is a designer-maker, curator, and educator based on Gadigal Country, Sydney. A graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven, her practice is guided by hands-on material experimentation, producing sculptural yet functional furniture, lighting, and objects from unconventional resources. Her work reframes discarded materials – marble offcuts, invasive timbers, salvaged metals and textiles – revealing the stories embedded in what already exists and celebrating material irregularity as creative potential.