Inspiration

Q&A with founder Peter Webb

Where did you grow up and how did you start in the furniture business?

I grew up in the western suburbs of Melbourne and my father started making furniture in 1949 where he made tables and chairs and so the heritage lives on.

Thinking back to your school days how does your memory of the classroom experience differ from that of open learning?

My memories of school were a classroom of a lot of chairs, a lot of desks, one teacher, a blackboard and you are just part of a big number and either you made it or you didn’t and compared to today where there’s a one on one or two on one process, it just seems so much more exciting and just allows more people to shine.

What is open learning and how does your furniture match up with open learning?

Open learning is where there is an environment and a space where everybody, every child can feel free to be part of, as an individual or as a group, of a learning process. Our furniture I think, suits open learning terrifically because it’s flexible, we can produce the design that suits you and experience shows us that kids love it and teachers like it too.

Do you have any words of wisdom for teachers thinking about open learning but don't know where to start?

By coming and seeing you and looking at your needs we help you get to where you want to be and where you want to be is having a classroom or an environment that works well for teaching. We’d just love to be part of your school.

Q&A with director Zoe Christodoulou

Zoe has been around furniture all her life and this has naturally lead her to where she is today helping to make learning fun for schools throughout Victoria.

How did you start in the furniture business?

Furniture’s always been a part of my life, my dad has a manufacturing business. He’s had that for thirty years. I used to be there helping out on school holidays and I ended up working there after school and here I am today.

What have been the most popular furniture combinations?

I have to say that the soft furnishing and ottomans are great. The different shapes and colours, they just appeal and change the mood of a person.

Thinking back to your school days how does your memory of the classroom experience differ from that of open learning?

Throughout my whole primary school years you got your four walled room with one chair and one desk per student, there was no change, it was the same routine day in, day out. It was just listen to a teacher, on the blackboard, write down notes.

Why do you think open learning is better then traditional?

Teaching has changed dramatically, there is no four walls anymore, each class room has two walls or sometimes three and they just open to up to a open learning area. That creates interaction with other students and the children just love it. The enthusiasm changes when they walk into the room, they see colour, it changes there mood. We’ve delivered furniture to schools and the students are so excited, "Is that our chair, is that going in our classroom?" and seeing that on their face just makes you happy.

It’s a thrill to be part of that and to be able to provide furniture that can cater for their needs and the fact that it’s a part of their developmental learning, its rewarding.

Orange

Varying factors in a student’s daily life can cause a lack of motivation. Using vivid colours like orange can reduce this, by impelling enthusiasm. Orange presents itself as an active colour, adding vivacity, and prompting social interaction within a classroom. The colour orange is warmly illustrative of assurance and liveliness.

Yellow

Yellow is commonly assimilated with warmth, optimism and joy, but is also scientifically embraced for retaining focus. It is the most effective colour for stimulating the mind and encouraging intellectual capability. Yellow is established as the fastest colour to capture attention. Commonly recurring among public signs, yellow is also used to keep people alert. Using yellow in a classroom inspires students to embark upon both their creative and their logical skills as they’re kept attentive. A splash of yellow creates warmth and academic enlightenment within the classroom.

Green

Associated most with nature and growth, the colour green is used to create calmness. Green is a remarkable colour for provoking optimism and relaxation. Green is used as a soothing colour to lessen unproductive and hyperactive behaviour in the classroom, and to keep children at ease. Lighter shades of green can restore balance within a classroom, by providing motivation for children to remain collected. As respect has always been a vital component among children in building relationships and learning to treat others, darker shades of green are utilised to represent growth and unity.

We believe that furniture isn't just a purchase, but it's also a process. Here at Peter Webb Furniture, we're committed to producing the finest custom made furniture to cater for any space. We design and we build based on your needs and your personalised requests. 

 To show you how we work, take a look at our steel and timber processes:

Steel Process

1. The steel is delivered in full lengths.
2. It is then cut down to specified lengths depending on the product being made.
3. The cut lengths are then bent to the shape or size of product.
4. The steel pieces are then placed together and welded to form a single piece product.
5. The steel product is then prepared for powder coating. The product is then placed onto the powder coating chain which slowly progresses to be powder coated in the selected colour, then gradually goes through the oven for the paint to dry.
6. Once the product comes out from the powder coating oven, it is then ready to be assembled.

Timber Process

1. Laminate is delivered in full sheets.
2. It is then cut down to specified shape and size on the panel saw.
3. The laminate is then sprayed with glue and applied to either mdf or chipboard.
4. The ABS edging is then applied on the table top through the edge bender.
5. The table top is then ready for assembly.

Purple

Though yellow motivates a student’s intellect, purple encourages creativity. The colour purple is known to alleviate the mind whilst restoring the interchangeable balance of intellect and creativity. Dominantly visible within the colour spectrum, purple is boldly linked to prompting the imagination, which can expose a student’s vision and hidden talents. A splash of purple in the classroom is a humbling addition.

"It's from our realisation of the power of open learning, that we continue to design and to build..."

Of the many schools to have experienced accumulated success, was St Brendan's Primary, whom recognised the potential in open learning, from speaking with fellow schools.

St Brendan's Primary School opened in 1891, and first switched to opening learning in 2010 when they assigned us to refurbish their new building. During this project, we spent many days analysing the given spaces, speaking with the staff and students, and collectively selecting furniture to best provide for the given space and the amount of students.

We worked closely with the Principal and Vice Principal to gain insight, to understand their objectives and to collaboratively create a vision. We provided our expertise as a guide for choosing what would function best in the given setting. After complete agreement, we proceeded to design, to sample and to build.

At St Brendan's Primary School, we had refurbished six classrooms, all of which opened out to a bigger area. In addition, we refurbished the Languages room, Visual Arts room, and the Community Information Centre. We're currently working on other classrooms, to consistently achieve open learning throughout the entire school.

Through our projects like Bethany Catholic Primary and St Brendan's Primary, we have applied personalised colour schemes, designs, and pieces to suit the present architecture and circumstances. Though with every project, we continue to achieve a successful open learning environment, through our continued research and ongoing practice.

We've been greatly moved and inspired by our first-hand experiences of open learning to encourage and to motivate both students and teachers. It's from our realisation of the power of open learning, that we continue to design and to build, as we work toward achieving a greater education system like never before.

What first began as an assignment to design and furnish a space in a way unknown to us, became the hard earned realisation we needed to forever create the magic of open learning.

This source of inspiration began in 2008 when we achieved our first open learning space at a school called Bethany Catholic Primary. When we were assigned to this project, we were exposed to a new classroom layout called 'open learning'.

Impassioned by this innovative form of education, Vice Principal, Helen Kelly, travelled to Italy, the place where open learning had begun. After vigorous research, we worked in close collaboration with Kelly to discover the benefits of open learning, and to figure out how we could design furniture that allowed for such an environment.

We were faced with a long process filled with meetings, proposals, designs, trials, consultations and extended research, over a span of several months. We persisted after countless designs and samples, until we finally achieved a superb fit. We designed and made a varied range from wave and horseshoe tables, to ottomans and quatro lounges, to facilitate for an innovative atmosphere. We manipulated a vibrant range of colours to complement the practicality of the furniture, and to inspire the setting.

This was the school's first transformation since it's founding in 1995. Not only did the school have new buildings, but they had now adapted a new learning system as well. Our series of designs and productions refurbished the school's new spaces, and established a productive, open learning environment.

This extraordinary project was soon followed by a succession of developments. From 2008 - 2010, we had designed and refurbished the Leadership Centre for Years 5 and 6, the Discovery Centre for Years 1 and 2, and the Exploration Centre.

Today, Bethany Catholic Primary is a leading example for many Victorian schools in creating an open learning space that encourages innovation, productivity and interactive learning. Like Bethany Catholic Primary, many schools are experiencing higher results and greater benefits from open learning spaces that motivate both teaching and learning within the classroom.

See what the teachers had to say