Objects with memory: Inside McMullin.

That philosophy - seeded in childhood, trailing after her mother through vintage markets and op shops - has become the foundation of McMullin: a Sydney-based homewares and design brand creating collections that feel both timeless and lived-in from the start.

“I moved to Sydney in my mid-20s with a one-way ticket and no grand plan,” Alice says. “I was working as a spatial designer at the time, and the idea of creating a home you don’t want to leave really resonated with me. McMullin started with just one product: an Icelandic sheepskin I had sourced, styled, photographed and sold in small batches. From there it grew, one piece at a time, guided by the idea of pieces for living.”

It’s a philosophy rooted in antiquing, in the quiet character of objects that have been made with care and that carry a sense of history. “That’s what drew me in as a child,” Alice reflects. “The pieces I’d find with my mum at those markets always had this incredible presence - the sense that they’d been useful, cherished, lived with. That’s something we always try to capture at McMullin. Everything we make is designed to feel as though it’s been in your home for years, and will only get better with time.”

Longevity and sustainability sit at the core. For Alice, that means resisting the churn of trends, and instead stripping things back to materiality, form, and utility. The brand’s latest collection, HAKUSHO - meaning “white paper” - embodies this ethos. “It was a chance to start with a blank canvas, and focus on intentional living,” Alice says. “The forms are pared back to their purest shapes, so it’s the craftsmanship and materials that stand out. The idea is that these pieces age beautifully and earn their place in the home.”

While McMullin’s design language is globally resonant, its roots are firmly in Sydney’s Inner West. The brand’s flagship showroom in Marrickville is surrounded by a community of makers and creatives, far from the expected design enclaves of the city. “I love the Inner West for its character and the way people here are always doing things a little differently,” Alice says. “It feels like home. For me, coffee at Superfreak and dinner at Continental Deli are as much a part of the design day as being in the studio.”

And while the collections continue to evolve, the future of McMullin extends beyond product. “We’ve got something new in the works,” Alice reveals. “It’s about community and experiences - bringing people together around creativity, restoration, and craft. It feels like the natural next step for us, an extension of what we value most as a brand.”

At its heart, McMullin is about building sanctuaries. Spaces made from pieces that don’t just fill a room but evoke memory, connection, and comfort. Pieces that, much like Alice’s early market finds, hold a kind of presence you can’t quite put into words - but always feel.

Visit the McMullin showroom at 13 Thompson Street, Marrickville.