Press

Date

March 31 2017

Five Questions with TRADE the MARK - Finders Keepers Blog

Trade the mark vessels sitting on shelves in kitchen
Christina McLean is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work is borne out of a deep love of nature and a devotion to hand-crafted practice.  Christina’s latest incarnation TRADE the MARK, sees Chris combining her great love of hand-made technique with textiles, ceramics and leather.  
Read on to discover more

Date

July 25 2016

Gourmet Traveller Magazine - Meet your Maker

Sydney designer Christina Mclean has been addicted to colour and pattern since she was a young girl. "I remember being enamoured by the scales on fish I used to catch with my dad, and the patterns in the leaves of the plants my mum used to grow," she says. Mclean has designed prints for leading Australian fashion designers such as Sass & Bide, Romance Was Born and Bianca Spender, but in 2014 she took a step back to start her own creative business, Trade the Mark. As a "mark maker", as she calls herself, Mclean handcrafts the likes of indigo-dyed linen napery, cheese platters and hanging planters - each ceramic piece painted with bold underglazes and then sgraffito-etched with fine, graphic lines.
Words by Maggie Scardfield.
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Date

May 12 2016

AD - Architectural Digest Spain - Top Ten

Date

April 15 2016

Hot pots : Aussie ceramic brands to know

 

 

Date

June 16 2015

Daily Imprint - Feature

It was during her first trip to Bali, in the late 80s, when she came across ikat weavings and waxed batiks that Christina Mclean started her obsession with textiles. “Every trip I’ve ever been on in some way revolves around textiles,” she says. “Whether it’s seeing work exhibited, participating in workshops with master dyers or visiting indigenous makers, I need this to be part of my journey.” After graduating from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts, and majoring in ceramics, Christina ran Chowk Ceramics for 12 years. But she was ready for something new, and wanted it to be in the field of textiles. After further postgraduate study, Christina started working as a textile designer, but after four years the company went into liquidation. This turned out to be a mixed blessing though as she was able to gain contract work for leading fashion houses, including Sass & Bide, Lisa Ho and Ginger & Smart, under her own name Christina McLean Design. Six years later and she has set up TRADE the MARK too, a range of bespoke homewares.
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