The peaceful death of Brian Davis in February marked the passing of a remarkable period of creative design and marketing in mid-century Australia.
As founder and sole owner of Decor Corporation, Davis had the singular vision and drive to build a homewares company in Melbourne that became recognized worldwide for its innovation and quality. Decor has released more than 300 products, of which 100 have won Australian Design Awards and have been exported around the world.
His father was an adventurous Englishman, who became a pearler off the north-west coast of Australia and Davis was born in Broome in 1930, but moved to Melbourne three years later. After leaving school he joined Coles and immediately became engaged with merchandising in homewares and toys; by the age of twenty-two he was an assistant manager. He left to join his uncle Alex Tolmer, who in partnership with John Brent & Co, manufactured toys. Davis was to set up a kitchenware division. But when the partnership dissolved, he remained with Alex Tolmer to set up the well-known brand of Toltoys. The company was hugely successful but Davis was anxious to return to homewares and in 1958 he left to set up his own business, using his bedroom as an office and hawking his samples around in his car boot.
Davis secured contracts with Coles and Woolworths, but realized that he could not be dependent on only two customers, and so he started to produce goods for the general trade. He employed designs from the Swedish company Gustavsbergs Fabriker, which were made under a licensing agreement. Conversely, he also designed products that the Swedes were keen to produce. After this the royalties were waived and the two companies agreed to use each other’s ideas. When the deal ended, Davis made the range fully Australian designed, and after some trial and error, he appointed British designer Tony Wolfenden (ex-Yuncken Freeman) in 1969, and Richard Carlsen in 1973. Between them they designed the bulk of the Decor range. Quoting Wolfenden, “Brian Davis was transformative in the use of plastics and the production of quality products in homewares.”
The major retailers for Decor products were Myer, Coles, Target, and Woolworths. Overseas Decor was in the top department stores such as Harrods, Fortnum and Mason, Bloomingdales and Harvey Nichols. There were also licensing agreements with companies in Britain, Switzerland and the United States to manufacture the Decor range. The key to success for Davis had been in his concentration on what he did best – designing and marketing.
In line with his significant achievements and contribution to raising design standards, he was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia’s Hall of Fame, in conjunction with Decor designers Wolfenden and Carlsen, in 1996. Also, in 2021 he was recognized by the Australian Honours Secretariat and awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to business and philanthropy. A memorable life indeed.
