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Kitchen table to corporate brands
John Moriarty describes the inspiration for the founding of the Balarinji company in his autobiography, Saltwater Fella.
John had no design experience, but knew turtles very well from hunting them. After Ros transferred John’s turtle drawing to Tim’s doona cover, the designs continued. The Moriartys used their kitchen table as their first ‘studio’.
They first established the company ‘Jumbana’, John’s Aboriginal name given to him at birth, with Balarinji, Tim’s skin name being later given to the design label of the company. They aimed to combine Aboriginal designs with Australian wool, cotton and silk, and to produce quality products. At the heart of the business is a philosophy of ‘the spirituality behind the design’.
In her book, Listening to Country, Ros Moriarty gives additional insights into the challenges of establishing the design business. She juggled motherhood and John working at high level government appointments in Aboriginal affairs, while both worked late nights to progress Balarinji Design.
By the 1990s their dedication was starting to bring results. Budget Rent-a-Car commissioned uniform fabrics and Sheridan used Balarinji to create an ‘Outback’ collection of bed linen.
Balarinji designs were promoted in Japan and Europe, and the Moriartys started building on their successes. They began to move from the production of products for sale, to undertaking design commissions.
Their strong and innovative symbols were part of a new visual language which could be used to create brand and corporate identities for Australian and international businesses.
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