“Treat your time studying like you would if you were a professional…”

– JACK FLANAGAN

UPDATED 2025 as part of our 125th Anniversary Celebrations

Informing Jack’s work is the exploration of the concepts of attachment and permanence and the relationships that families and individuals forge with treasured objects, that become the recorder and keeper of shared stories.

Jack embraces ancient and traditional techniques and materials like bronze and aluminium sand casting, turned metals and timbers and the creation of unique colours and wood stains, as well as the latest manufacturing technology and materials for industrial scale.

His work is consistently selected by curators for exhibition around Australia and has been selected to exhibit at the London Design Festival on three separate occasions.Most recently was awarded the Robert Juniper Award for the Arts and was runner-up Best Australian Designer at Denfair.

What first brought you to NM TAFE, and what did you hope to achieve when you arrived?

After studying a year of motorsport engineering, I wanted something more creative and hands on, and coincidentally someone suggested Industrial/Product design which up until that point I didn’t even know that was an actual course to study. So then quickly found out NM TAFE offered that course.

What’s a defining memory or moment from your time at TAFE that has stayed with you?

Travelling to London and Melbourne with fellow NM TAFE students to exhibit our work was a great experience.

Which project, experience, or person most shaped your creative direction?

The period at which I completed the course had a great bunch of passionate lecturers that were supportive and helped us be ambitious and take our work out into the real world. Including Peter, Richard, Stu, Eric, Simon and others.

How did studying at NM TAFE influence the way you work or think today?

I think being in an interesting course was great but also being surrounded by other creative courses in the same building made you want to explore different fields and processes and not let you get boxed into one thing.

What are you working on now, and what drives your current practice?

We have been exploring a lot of different processes by doing a lot of different commissioned furniture and sculptural pieces over the last 10 years but we are now working very hard to focus on our own standard designs that people can choose from. Still within the bespoke high end furniture and product category as well as doing limited one off commision projects for clients. 

What milestone or achievement in your career feels most connected to your TAFE experience?

Collaborating with other designers, manufacturers, interior designers as well as our own internal team has the same fun and exciting feeling.

What does being part of NM TAFE’s 125-year creative legacy mean to you?

It’s nice to be seen in a positive way amongst peers and hopefully means all the hard work over the last 10+ years is guiding us in the right direction.