Jac Sewell and Joel Steward first launched their business, Unrivalled Interiors, in 2021 - a passion project born out of the desire to forge pieces for the home that would infuse meaning into people’s lives for generations to come. With an underlying ethos of bringing the outdoors indoors, the Unrivalled collection is inspired by the natural elements that surround the couple’s home in Newcastle. Infused with elements of sleek design, slowness and sustainability, the brand’s furniture and homewares are fashions by 100% Turkish travertine and ensure that feelings of nostalgia are introduced into homes across Australia. We spoke about the reason behind the inception of this new enterprise, what their plans are for the future and what they hope customers will feel when owning a piece of their work.

WORDS BY DELLARAM VREELAND IMAGES BY SHAN ROSE

When Jac and Joel moved into their first home in Newcastle, they wanted to ensure that every nook within the bounds of their newest abode was filled with meaning. “We started curating the different spaces of our house and didn’t want to fill it full of flat packs and all that stuff,” Jacquie says. “We’d seen pieces of furniture being passed down through generations of my family, and thought it would be really cool to have pieces passed down to our kids and our grandkids.”

With Joel’s background in the trades and his knack for working with his hands, the newly-engaged couple came up with a new business idea that would incorporate sleek and timeless design with a sustainable focus. And so Unrivalled was born - a furniture and homewares company devoted to fashioning stunning pieces to be enjoyed beyond one generation.

Launching in May 2021, the business prides itself on its made-to-order pieces (no two pieces are the same), lovingly handcrafted by Joel using 100% Turkish travertine. “It took a lot of online research because I didn’t have a lot of experience with stone, so there was a lot of touch-and-go and trial-and-error but also researching to see what tools to use,” Joel says. “What you’re working with is pretty much diamond, so it all comes down to what tool you use.”

Each item’s bright and terrestrial aesthetic does wonders to bring the outdoors in, with the brand’s selection boasting everything from coffee tables, side tables and armchairs through to vases, trays and incense holders, with each piece of furniture named after a special person in the couple’s life.

Selling online, through wholesale, via stockists in Newcastle and beyond, as well as through drop shipping, Jacquie says the business’s growth over the last 12 months has been a humbling surprise.

Just recently, the couple’s pieces made their way onto the Three Birds Renovations stage, attracting even more attention from design enthusiasts the country over. Quite the coup for a two-person small business based on the New South Wales coast.

“The business has grown really organically,” she says. “Every step of the way something has popped up and happened for us and we never thought Joel would be doing this full time,” Jacquie says.

“Collaboration is definitely key. The small business community in Newcastle and beyond means that everyone gets around each other and we’ve met so many other small business owners who have really supported us and it’s just a really nice bonus of starting this - all the new people we’ve met.”

Of course the road to success hasn’t come without its trials. As is the case with travertine itself, the business recently went through a porousness of its own which required some smoothing out - so to speak.

“We want to get into some different coloured stone,” Jacquie tells. “We thought we had some different coloured stone to work with, but it ended up being a scam so we lost a little bit there even though we had a whole collection based on that stone.”

But the setback hasn’t deterred Jacquie and Joel from spurring onwards. As the Unrivalled name continues to make its mark, the couple is looking to the future with plans to expand the brand’s repertoire and further enrich the customer experience across Australia.

“There is nothing more beautiful than what nature has to offer which is why we use natural stone as our material of choice,” Jacquie says. “We want to branch out from travertine to mix it up a bit, and we’re looking for a shop for Joel and ideally we can outsource and bring some different shapes in too.”

The Unrivalled aesthetic is most certainly that - unrivalled - with a look and feel that is calm and joy-inducing, and undoubtedly inspired by the slowness that Jacquie and Joel’s hometown dictates.

“We always say Newcastle is like a big country town, and neither of us wanted to live in Sydney because it’s too fast-paced,” Jacquie says, “It’s a big country town with a beach and with a really good feel. Living in a world where mass production is rampant, we value the importance of creating products that are sustainable and can be enjoyed beyond one generation, bringing feelings of handmade nostalgia into your homes.”

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