Like Butter is a design and fabrication business owned and run by industrial designer Jem Selig Freeman and sculptor Laura Woodward. Like Butter has gained a reputation for its approach to design and fabrication that is based on flexible and lateral thinking, strong aesthetics and considered detailing, in order to achieve the simplest and most effective solutions for the project at hand. We achieve this through process, pushing our materials and our machines to their limits. Like Butter has functioned across multiple industries; from its own furniture and lighting products, to one-off commissions for significant design and fabrication projects, to public art installations, through to film and animation production. The common thread? Learning through play, and ‘just making stuff’.
We're a team of designers, sculptors, musicians and makers. We learn by playing with materials and machines. We're driven by pushing process to the limit and refining each detail as we gain experience. And we care about leaving a positive lasting touch on the planet, through design. Want to learn something from us? Check out our Instagram @likebutter.au which is where Jem shares workshop processes and production updates.
In 2007, Laura had some stainless steel sculptures that needed to be produced, so we went out and bought a plasma cutter. After almost burning down Jem’s sister’s shed in inner Melbourne, we set about doing metal plasma cutting for local artists and designers. Eventually we transitioned from steel to plywood, and, as demand increased, we invested more in machines and our growing team. Nothing much has changed; we're still all about iterative process improvement and making the best stuff we can - and now we offer it delivered directly to you from our custom workshop in Castlemaine, Central Victoria.
Pictured: Laura and Jem in 2011 with the original batch of classic LB crates.
