Behind the Label

Order Materia - Jackson & Harrison Swaby 

How did you both get started and how do you find working closely together?

We have always been part of each of our personal creative lives, running ideas past each other - I’d probably take this all the way back to building dens and playing with k-nex together as kids. Our processes of working together are quite smooth, we rarely start at the same point or completely agree, but the ideation and development is never hindered.

 

  

 

  

How would you describe Order Materia?

The house of our fashion and design-focused ideas. Original content with the focus on people owning unique works. I like the idea of someone owning something no one else in the world has.

How did the name ‘Order Materia’ come about?

This was a long process of working to first understand what we were trying to achieve then translate that into as few words as possible.

Order Materia exists in the land of creation, growth, development, enhancement, as a collective / a group / a tribe.

‘Order’ embodies being part of something, the collective aspect - originally growing from the idea of a masonic order.

‘Prima Materia’ is said to be the base for making the ‘Philosophers Stone’, a substance that can turn base metals into gold.

 Jackson Swaby - Music - Spotify

Harrison Swaby - ‘Continuous Fluid Form’ 

www.ordermateria.com

What advice would you give to aspiring designers, photographers, musicians?

Make. Don’t worry about anything else. The work will tell you when to take on the other aspects of being those things, and how much they want to be a part of your life.

 

Out of all the designs that you have both done which would stand out as your favourite and why?

It’s probably our ‘Big Blue’ coat, it represents a lot of our design intent. Statement work, with hand-sculpted and cast buttons and accompanying Snake brooch.

What/who inspires you both?

Architecture, art, movies... the design process itself.

It’s hard to contextualise something directly, I don’t think either of us consume something then immediately create. I think we just absorb, then, for instance, the line or flow of a car might appear in something we’re working on.

Away from work how do you relax and unwind?

We enjoy working out, biking, general exploring, watching Gold Rush (the greatest TV show to ever exist haha) and watching movies, music. I think we both mainly enjoy active things.

What’s next for Order Materia?

We’ve always wanted to show some of our works in an exhibition setting, we’ll do that soon. We’re working on some accessory designs that we haven’t seen before. We’d just like to push some ideas.