Granite Lane Homewares

When Bianca and Marcus Jowett launched their Perth-based home goods company, Granite Lane, it most certainly involved a leap of faith and a lot of conviction. Though neither came from a design background, they believed that with their combined talents they could produce a line of home products, including handmade New Zealand wool rugs, that would be attractive, affordable and ethically produced. Their first mission, Marcus says, was to make sure they found a reputable supplier. “Simply put, from the beginning we were customer driven and knew that no one wanted to buy a rug made by a child. From the start, people asked us if our rugs were GoodWeave® certified, so of course we looked on the GoodWeave® website and that’s how we found our manufacturer.”

The couple, who both came from the world of oil and gas, not décor, knew they wanted a career change. As they tell it, there was just a eureka moment when they said to each other, “Why don’t we start our own store full of the things WE like?!” Surprisingly their new business just took off. Marcus admits that despite their enthusiasm and early receptiveness, there still was a steep learning curve with many challenges. The couple was undaunted. With Marcus’ family background of entrepreneurs, Bianca’s innate sense of style and both of their passions for art, they persisted.

The company’s name, Granite Lane, Marcus says, is a reference to Bianca’s Scottish hometown, Aberdeen, known as the Granite City, while Granite Lane evokes a small quiet street leading to a cozy home. Cozy, subtle and contemporary are the characteristics of a style they call Modern Australian. “Simplicity and sophistication are the drivers for us with all our products, Marcus explains, and that, he says, goes for rugs too. “Without a rug, a room feels lifeless. Add a rug, and you’ve got warmth and texture. It changes the feel of the space completely. It’s incredible to see the transformation!”

Granite Lane designs are a collaboration between the couple and the skilled Indian artisans with whom they work. “Our design process is a kind of evolution,” says Marcus. He points to their most popular rugs and a personal favorite, Cloud in Silver and Cloud in Ivory, as examples of that creative back and forth with the weavers, as Bianca and Marcus sought to find just the right texture for the wool, viscose and cotton pieces. Nala is a wool and cotton flatweave, woven with a snail-like pattern, that was, at first, a challenge for the weavers, but after several iterations, the unusually patterned rug was perfect.

Perfect too, Marcus says, is their alliance with GoodWeave®. All said, what is really important to Marcus and Bianca is that with GoodWeave they are assured their rugs are made ethically. “We know when we sell a rug to a customer that we can put our hand on our heart and know we are not supporting any factory that uses child labor,” says Marcus. “The thought of that fills me with joy.”

Learn more about Granite Lane Homewares and shop their collections here.