Robert Baines

Robert Baines

Author: Australian Design Centre December 8, 2021 Duration: 26:06

With a career spanning five decades, Robert Baines is one of Australia’s leading gold and silver smiths.  

Robert Baines makes intricately constructed jewellery and large-scale, sculptural, complex wire works that often combine gold and silver with plastic and powder-coated elements. 

Hear how Robert researched high Classical Greek gold jewellery and remade it using 2000 year old techniques, how colour takes on many meanings in his jewellery, and how a chance meeting in a gallery changed everything. 

Robert’s work can be found in all major public galleries, as well as internationally in significant museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The Australia Design Centre made Robert Baines a Living Treasure: Master of Australian Craft in 2010. 

Robert Baines lives and works on Wurundjeri Country in Melbourne. 


There’s a story held within every object shaped by human hands, and Object: stories of design and craft from the Australian Design Centre is where those narratives unfold. This isn't a lecture series, but a series of conversations that pull up a chair beside the makers themselves. You’ll hear the subtle sounds of the studio and the thoughtful pauses as artists and designers explain not just how they work, but why. The focus is firmly on contemporary Australian practice, moving from broad explorations to deep dives into specific disciplines. For instance, one season is dedicated entirely to the world of ceramics, tracing the journey from raw material to finished piece. The most recent season offers an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the 2023 MAKE Award, a major national prize for innovation. Through this podcast, you’ll meet the winner, Vipoo Srivilasa, alongside finalists like the collective High Tea with Mrs Woo and artists Julie Blyfield, Csongvay Blackwood, and Johannes Kuhnen. The perspectives of award judges, including Jason Smith, Hyeyoung Cho, and Brian Parkes, add another layer to the understanding of what drives contemporary craft forward. Each episode is a quiet immersion into the material, intellectual, and personal processes that define today's most compelling creative work.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 24

Object: stories of design and craft
Podcast Episodes
Cinnamon Lee, 2025 MAKE Award winner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:20
Host Lisa Cahill meets with the winner of the 2025 MAKE Award, metalsmith and jeweller Cinnamon Lee. Cinnamon tells us about her hybrid practice combining jewellery and lighting, the intricate process of making her winni…
Artist Deep Dive: Seven key works in Helen Britton's The Story So Far [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:29
A deep drive into seven key works by Helen Britton, from her current exhibition The Story So Far. In this audio tour, Helen describes how she made each work, her techniques and materials, and the stories behind each piec…
Helen Britton: Living Treasure Master of Australian Craft [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:58
Helen Britton is a multidisciplinary Australian artist based in Munich, Germany. Her practice includes jewellery, sculpture, drawings, stencils and installations, and is informed by popular culture, threatened traditions…
Johannes Kuhnen, MAKE Award finalist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:11
Host Lisa Cahill chats with master metalsmith Johannes Kuhnen. Johannes Kuhnen is one of the pioneers of anodised aluminium metalwork. In this episode, Johannes explains why he finds anodising annoying, and his design pr…
Csongvay Blackwood, MAKE Award finalist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:39
Host Lisa Cahill chats with partners in life and work, Csilla Csongvay and Matt Blackwood. In this episode, Csilla and Matt share the inspirations behind their work, what it takes to enter an award, and how they made a s…
Julie Blyfield, MAKE Award finalist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:04
Host Lisa Cahill chats with contemporary jeweller Julie Blyfield. Hear how Julie's MAKE Award entry is inspired by love and loss. Julie Blyfield is a South Australian artist renowned for her work inspired by collected bo…
High Tea with Mrs Woo, MAKE Award finalist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:23
Meet clothing designers High Tea With Mrs Woo.Rowena, Angela and Juliana Foong are three sisters who run a clothing label that focuses on sustainability and ethical production and who collaborate on design, making, mendi…
MAKE Award winner, ceramic artist Vipoo Srivilasa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:57
Meet the winner of the Inaugural MAKE Award, ceramic artist Vipoo Srivilasa.Vipoo tells us about the themes that inspire his work, the process of making the winning piece Diverse Dominion Deities, his strategic approach…
Series 3: Behind the scenes of the MAKE Award [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:52
Series 3 introduces the winner, four finalists and the judges of Australia’s newest and richest award for contemporary craft - the MAKE Award. This major new national award by us, the Australian Design Centre, celebrates…
Museums and ceramics with Eva Czernis-Ryl [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:52
Meet Powerhouse curator Eva Czernis-Ryl and hearThe skills of a museum curatorHow curators select and interpret objects What makes a work of ceramics suitable for a museum collection?The unique history of ceramics collec…