Sydney, Australia
Marlo Lyda is an Australian-born designer-maker and university educator based in Sydney. A graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven’s Man & Well-Being Department, each of Lyda’s collections takes a single-word title — Toile, Turning or Remnants —and gathers an often varied family of furniture, lighting and objects into what she calls “a little universe,” shaped by a singular and sometimes personal perspective. Emerging from observations on making, Lyda’s functional yet sculptural works embrace irregularity and imperfection across nature, craft and overlooked materials, playfully revealing qualities she feels are too easily forgotten.
In 2025, Lyda was selected for the National Gallery of Victoria Rigg Design Prize, presenting KIN as a continuation of her ongoing Toile lighting collection. She was later recognised in Vogue Living’s VL50 in the Product Design category and through Australian Design Review’s 30UNDER30 program. Her research has also been supported by the NSW Design (Early Career) Fellowship with the Powerhouse Museum, which led to Turning, and the George Alexander Fellowship, extending her research into contemporary and historic approaches to working with stone.
Toile is represented by retailers across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, while Lyda’s Sydney studio continues to produce each work by hand for direct sale, alongside custom commissions and new collections. Her work has been exhibited internationally at Latitude during 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen and Furniture Forward during Dutch Design Week. In Australia, she has presented solo and group exhibitions across Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania, alongside collaborations with Armadillo, Martyn Thompson Studio and ALM.
Since 2023, Lyda has lectured in Design at UNSW Art & Design. She is also the founder and curator of MATTERS, a recurring Melbourne Design Week exhibition platform that has brought together more than 50 designers through collaborative exhibitions, including a multi-year partnership with the historic Villa Alba Museum.
Select Exhibitions
2026
2026
Latitude, curated by Claire Delmar, 3 Days of Design, Copenhagen, Denmark
But Wait, There’s More, solo exhibition, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne Design Week, Melbourne, Australia
Vogue Living VL50, Product Design category, Melbourne, Australia
Set / Scene, curated by Emma Elizabeth, M Contemporary, Sydney, Australia
2025
Furniture Forward, curated by Liv Vaisberg Furniture, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Next in Design, Rigg Design Prize, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Workshop: Low Key, presented by Fiona Lynch Office, Melbourne Design Week, Melbourne, Australia
Superfabshop, presented by Danielle Brustman Studio, Melbourne Design Week, Melbourne, Australia
2024
Marlo Lyda × Useful Objects, solo exhibition, Melbourne, Australia
MATTERS, Villa Alba Museum, Melbourne Design Week, Melbourne, Australia
By-Product, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
2023
Metamorphosis, solo exhibition, Sydney Design Week, Sydney, Australia
VITRINE, curated by Marsha Golemac, Melbourne, Australia
Silo Exhibition, Remnants 3.0, Melbourne Design Week, Melbourne, Australia
MATTERS, Villa Alba Museum, Melbourne Design Week, Melbourne, Australia
2022
Gloam Exhibition, Oigall Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Eddy Avenue Exhibition, Shifting Mirrors, Sydney Design Week, Sydney, Australia
New Australian Design Exhibition, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Design Week, Sydney, Australia
Futures Collective Exhibition, Villa Alba Museum, Melbourne Design Week, Melbourne, Australia
2021
GS21 Graduate Show, Scraptopia, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Future Proof, Oigall Gallery, Melbourne Design Week, Melbourne, Australia
Press
2026
MilK Decoration, Issue No. 56, product feature, ‘La Forme: Les suspensions s’étirent’
2025
Local Project, feature, ‘Next in Design: 35 under 35, Rigg Design Prize 2025’
Vogue Living, feature and short-film, ‘Meet 4 of the Rigg Design Prize 2025’s brightest talents’
Domain, feature, ‘Designer Marlo Lyda proves that broken can be beautiful’
Est Magazine, interview with Aleesha Callahan, ‘Collectable Design x Marlo Lyda’
2024
Material District, product feature, ‘Furniture made from wood of invasive species’
Designboom, exhibition release, marlo lyda transforms invasive weeds and stones into lamps, tables, and candle holders
Broadsheet, feature, ‘Local Maker Marlo Lyda Proves That Broken Can Be Beautiful’
2023
Habitus Living Feature 2023
Create NSW Powerhouse Design Fellowship Press Release
Est Living Milan Special Issue ‘Five by Five’
Artichoke Magazine Design Feature ‘Design as a ‘Love Language’
Australian Financial Review '6 Designers Shaking up Australia’
2022
Powerhouse Museum The Age We’re In - Nipa Doshi X Marlo Lyda
Australian Finacial Review Sydney Design Week Release
Design Anthology Fiona & Marlo Lyda Interview
Awards
30UNDER30, Product Design category, Australian Design Review and Niche Media, 2026
George Alexander Fellowship, International Specialised Skills Institute (ISSI), 2024
NSW Design (Early Career) Fellowship, Powerhouse Museum & Create NSW, 2023
Judge’s Choice Award, VIVID Design Competition, 2022
Cum Laude, Scraptopia, Design Academy Eindhoven, 2021