Some brands begin with a moodboard.
DK+L Originals begins with a place.
South of Sydney, where the Royal National Park meets the coast, the landscape changes constantly. Dense bush suddenly opens onto brilliant blue water. Cockatoos appear overhead. Banksias, gums and wildflowers grow beside sandy tracks leading down to quiet beaches.
This is Bundeena — and it's where much of the world of DK+L Originals begins.
Designed by the coast
Living close to the bush and ocean changes the way you notice colour.
The pale blue of a clear morning. Eucalyptus green. Sand, stone and weathered timber. The almost unbelievable flashes of yellow, pink and red that appear in Australian birds and flowers.
It's a palette we return to again and again.
But the landscape gives us more than colour. It gives us the feeling we want our designs to have: free, joyful, uncomplicated and a little wild.
Children running barefoot. Wet swimmers drying in the sun. Sandy shoes. Long walks. Birds making an extraordinary amount of noise before breakfast.
Not a polished version of Australian life.
The real one.
From the bush to the city
Then there is Sydney.
The pace changes, but somehow the ingredients remain the same.
Blue water appears between buildings. Cockatoos fly through city streets. Sandstone sits beside contemporary architecture. Ferries cross the harbour. People move between work, beaches, restaurants, parks and neighbourhoods in a way that feels distinctly Sydney.
That contrast fascinates us.
Nature and city aren't two separate parts of the DK+L story. They belong together.
Our designs might begin with something seen along the coast or sketched in the studio, but eventually they make their way into the city.
And finally, to our store in The Rocks.
A little piece of Australia
Our home at The Rocks sits just moments from Sydney Harbour, surrounded by sandstone, history and the constant movement of people arriving from all over the world.
Some live around the corner. Others have travelled thousands of kilometres.
What we hope they discover inside is something that feels unmistakably connected to this place.
A cockatoo on a sweatshirt. A piece of jewellery inspired by the coast. A Sydney graphic. A gift chosen because it captures something about Australia that the person wants to remember.
For us, that's what Australian design can do.
It can carry a sense of place without becoming predictable.
It can be beautiful, playful, useful and personal.
And sometimes something that begins beside the bush and sea can find its way to Sydney — and eventually travel halfway around the world.
From bush, to bay, to city, to you.
Born of Sun & Sea.