Melissa Hoyer
Plenty of Australian brands talk about “heritage” but Harbour actually has some. Jim Condos started the business in Sydney in 1976, having picked up his craft as a blacksmith at 14.
Fifty years later, his sons Harrison and Nicholas run it from Los Angeles. There are now seven US showrooms, including a Madison Avenue flagship, and the family’s outdoor furniture turns up in smart hotels and homes around the world.
This month the brand marked the milestone at its ever-smart Waterloo showroom, with around 150 designers and architects in attendance and Jim and Harriet Condos alongside their sons.
“To look at where we are today… is something we never take for granted,” Harrison said. That’s a refreshingly modest line from a man with a showroom on Madison Avenue.
The Sydney Collection
The centrepiece is a limited-edition range called, fittingly, Sydney. The teak frames get a high-gloss finish using an Italian marine-grade technique, which is the same kind of treatment you’d find on a luxury yacht. The seats and backs are batyline mesh, and the cushions come in bespoke fabrics. The range covers a sun lounge, club chair, dining chair, dining table and side table, and starts from $1,695.
Nicholas Condos, who co-designed it, describes it as a tribute to the way light moves across the harbour and don’t need to be quite that poetic to see the appeal. It’s glossy, nautical and very summer-on-the-water.
What else is new
- Collins in Aluminium (from $1,295): ribbed frames and bolster backrests with a distinctly Miami Deco feel. It’s a big range, running from swivel chairs to a daybed.
- Chloe in Aluminium (from $1,195): curvy and sculptural, with almond-shaped armrests. The line has been expanded.
- Como Sectional (from $2,595): outdoor velvet with softly curved lines.
- Amalfi Kidney Sofa (from $9,895): fully upholstered in outdoor Italian bouclé, which Harbour says is a first. Bouclé that survives a Sydney summer is quite the claim.
- Lennon Dining Chair (from $1,695): a midcentury-ish teak tripod frame with performance cushions.
The verdict
Harbour’s trick has always been making outdoor furniture look like it belongs indoors. The pieces are deep, low and comfortable, and built to handle salt air and all outdoor conditions. The Sydney Collection simply adds some shine and a perfect way to mark 50 years. I’m a huge fan.
Visit the Harbour showroom at 3/1037–1047 Bourke St, Waterloo, or head to shopharbour.com.au.
