Melbourne’s New Furniture Studio Makes Art You Can Sit On.

Escultura’s Melbourne Showroom.

Escultura co-founders, left to right: Maryke Bishop, Kat Nitsou and Imogene Pond.

Escultura’s Launch Collection. Photos: Eve Wilson.

Melbourne’s design scene has welcomed a new voice, and it’s speaking the language of sculptural rebellion. Escultura, a female-founded furniture studio, launched during this year’s Melbourne Design Week with a collection that boldly questions where art ends and function begins.

The brains behind this venture are Kat Nitsou and Imogene Pond of Nitsou x Mo, alongside Maryke Bishop of Bishop Master Finishes—three women carving out space in an industry that’s often dominated by tradition. Their debut collection represents furniture that feels like it belongs in a gallery as much as a living room.

“We create sculptural furniture using regenerative materials—liveable art that’s considered and enduring,” explains Nitsou, capturing the studio’s philosophy in one succinct statement.

What sets Escultura apart isn’t just the aesthetic—though the pieces are undeniably striking—it’s the materials story. Each piece starts with a carbon-negative hemp core, then gets rendered in richly pigmented microcement and lime. The process is deliberately hands-on, with every piece made to order and finished by hand in Melbourne.

Bishop emphasises the beauty in imperfection: “We’re not aiming for uniformity. Each piece takes on its own character depending on the colour, who’s making it, and even the conditions on the day the finish is applied.”

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The forms themselves lean into contrast. Soft curves meet grounded silhouettes, while playful proportions balance structural edges. Pedestal dining tables feature split bases that create visual intrigue, and intersecting geometries bring unexpected dynamism to familiar forms.

The colour palette deserves special mention—grounding hues like eggplant, rose, olive, and lemon are equally sophisticated and approachable. The surface finish is texturally rich yet practical, resistant to stains, knocks, and humidity.

Sustainability runs through every decision. The hemp core material is fast-growing and carbon-negative, aligning with the studio’s broader commitment to regenerative practice and local production. It’s Australian-made furniture with a conscience and a serious aesthetic punch.

The new Melbourne showroom, now open to the public, serves as both gallery and retail space—a place where design professionals and collectors can experience the work tactilely. These aren’t pieces you can fully appreciate through a screen; they demand to be touched, walked around, lived with.

Escultura represents a mature new voice in Australian furniture design—expressive, unafraid, and rooted in the belief that everyday objects should carry emotional weight.

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Escultura’s pieces in situ inside Rye House by Nitsou x Mo.

[Images courtesy of Escultura. Photography by Eve Wilson.]