Last Thursday, seven practices from around the country came together at ForestOne’s showroom in the inner Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford to present their portfolios to an invited audience and representatives of this year’s Interior Excellence Awards jury panel.

Following the Shortlist Reveal event at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, the next IDEA-related event was the Emerging Designer of the Year presentations.

Recorded so that the rest of the judges could assess the presentations, the evening comprised seven of the eight shortlisted practices for Emerging Designer of the Year in IDEA 2026. Claire Markwick-Smith was the exception; currently located in the US, she has sent a video to the jury.

Following a few words from ForestOne‘s national business development manager John Dalla Via, thanks to IDEA’s sponsors from Niche’s commercial team, ADR‘s managing editor explained the format of the evening and introduced shortlisted practices.

Presenting in alphabetical order, the evening kicked off with Rachel Wan and Sophie Harris, directors of CO:AIKA, followed by Valeria Geller of Geller Studio, Gemma Chapman, the creative director and founder of Like Minds Studio and Ineke Hutter, creative director at Studio Co & Co.

A short break ensued for liquid refreshment and snacks, before it was on to the final three presentations. First up, 30UNDER30 2025/2026 cohort member, Joss Knight, founder and creative force behind Studiojos. Will Rathgeber, director of Byron Bay’s Studio Plenty took to the microphone next. Then, last but not least, it was Ruby Shields, principal of Studio Shields wrapping the formal part of the evening.

All seven presentations gave attending IDEA judges Adèle Winteridge and Michael Drescher plenty to think about and the unenviable task of joining their fellow jury members in a few weeks to try and separate one nominated practice from the pack for the ultimate accolade.

All in all, it was an excellent evening at ForestOne‘s impressive, well-appointed and very welcoming showroom. Unlike other scurrilous regular attendees at A+D industry events, we’d never be so crass as to judge the merits of a gathering on the quality of the sustenance provided. But IF we did, we’d have to say ForestOne absolutely nailed it. The canapés were hands-down delicious.

For more information about the Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2026 and to see all shortlisted projects and practices click here.

IDEA 2026 would not be possible without our overall sponsor Miele, alongside sponsors Crafted Hardwoods, Clipsal, Cult, Designer Rugs, ForestOne, Herman Miller, Roche Bobois, Laufen, Signature Appliances powered by Miele and Zenith. We are eternally grateful for their continued support of IDEA and of Australia’s design community. We are also hugely thankful to our event partners Axolotl, The Melbourne Gin Company, Jansz and Yalumba, which help the IDEA gala sparkle even brighter.

Photos: Matthew Wren.