A doyenne of design
New Zealand’s shift in preference from mass-produced to locally made-to-last furniture suits Hildy Kovacs just fine. After all, it’s what she’s always done.
Designer for Ferrymead-based Kovacs Design Furniture, Hildy and her brother Johnny are the second generation of Kovacs makers. Their father, Stephen Kovacs, opened the Christchurch furniture business in 1959 with an eye for European design and steadfast belief in the talents of local craftsmen.
Hildy remembers making buttons with her brother in the early days; today, she is responsible for Kovacs’ diverse range of over 50 designs. Each piece is crafted entirely at their Christchurch factory with the ethos embedded by her father – that furniture should both inspire and endure.
A hands-on creator, Hilidy’s intimate knowledge of the construction methods is key to her design process – which she says is never an easy one.
“I often sit with an idea for several months, moving backwards and forwards through the construction of it as I think. I have to be sure that the frame can carry the idea, so the skeleton has to be there first.”
Hildy draws her designs by hand, life-size – “the only way to get true perspective”. She then works alongside a team of skilled artisans, some of whom have worked with her for decades.
After so much time together, their process for building a new design is organic, fluid and highly practical.
“I’m lucky to have so many right hands here. Sometimes they don’t even know what we’re creating until the product is finished,” she smiles.
With a design language that’s broad and bold, Hildy prioritises balance in the forms she creates. It’s rare, however, for Kovacs pieces to share the same handwriting, which is perhaps due to her desire for confronting design challenges.
“I love being outside my comfort zone, particularly when I’m trying to do something where the methodology hasn’t been done before. It’s excruciating but deeply satisfying in the end.”
This attitude has moved Kovacs to explore new materials and methods in recent releases, such as steel frames. The use of steel allows shapes that have a fineness to them; furniture with a lighter, more compact form.
While furniture designers can be didactic in their work, Hildy’s pieces sit comfortably in all kinds of settings, thanks to endless options of fabrics and finishes. She thinks of her role as creating a ‘vessel’ – a refreshingly ego-free approach in this discipline.
“I need to leave it a little bit open. The user’s interpretation can change a piece dramatically; a fabric choice can take an informal chair in a formal direction. A looser cover can make a sophisticated piece more practical.”
Hildy is an icon in New Zealand furniture design – whether she likes it or not. This is a woman who, in a world of Karen Walker slacks and flawless makeup, is more at home in her red boiler suit, preferring the creative hum of the family’s Ferrymead factory over glitzy home styling events.
It’s this practicality, attention to detail and commitment to doing things right the first time that underpin a Hildy Kovacs design – and increasingly, catching the eye of younger, more environmentally conscious buyers. They love local, and they love products that last.
As fast fashion approaches its inevitable fate, a renewed appetite for longevity over trends is emerging in furniture too. It’s all about strong bones and classic lines that can be reinvigorated each decade: design that’s intergenerational and built to last – much like Kovacs itself.