Place-based craft, workshops and ecological design
Snakebird Designs believes that beauty and planetary health belong together, and that in order to care for the living world we must first fall back in love with it. Through making, engaging the senses and learning alongside each other, we explore what it means to belong to a place.
When we create spaces for hands-on, embodied and joyful learning, both people and planet can thrive.
Snakebird Designs is grounded in the more-than-human world, centering the perspectives of species living alongside us.
Working with local and abundant materials, all offerings draw on the five pathways to nature connectedness to design experiences that are as pleasurable as they are meaningful.
We collaborate with ecologists, artists, and communities to create spaces where learning is situated and shared.
What this looks like in practice
Workshops
Hands-on sessions connecting people to their local ecology through making.
Using local materials to help local species.
Habitat Making
Insect hotels, woven fish motels and small bird refuge structures made from locally sourced, abundant materials that are beautiful and functional, giving back to our more-than-human neighbours.
Art & Writing
Objects and ideas that challenge the idea that humans are at the centre of everything.
“ How do my materials invite empathy and intimacy with Earth, with other creatures and nonhumans? Could they renew and reconcile ecological connection?
What is around where I live? What is available? What is being offered?“
- Heidi Gustafson, Book of Earth
AS SEEN IN:
The Journal of Australian Ceramics, Vol 65 No 1, April 2026
Want tailored workshops or programs for your area?
Every project starts with a conversation about your site, your community and the diverse species that call it home.
Get in touch, our initial catch up is free and usually takes about half an hour.
I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which Snakebird Designs works, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, recognising that sovereignty has not been ceded. I pay my respect to their Elders past and present, and to all First Peoples.
Inclusivity & Accessibility:
Everyone is welcome at Snakebird Designs. I strive to make all workshops and interactions accessible, safe, respectful and enjoyable for participants of all ages, abilities, identities and cultures.
If you have any questions about accessibility or feedback about areas for improvement, please get in touch!