Together with her studies, first in design and later with a Bachelor of Art Theory at UNSW – as well as her time spent in Berlin, where she thrilled to the blurred creative boundaries of a culture where fashion, food and interiors overlapped as a single expression of cool, lived-in style – Amelia’s early influences have shaped an intuitive approach to collecting and an affinity for design as embedded within the everyday. “I’ve always collected furniture and design pieces for my own home,” says Amelia, whose private passion became Zander & Co when sourcing for herself evolved into sourcing for others.

“I’m constantly drawn to things that speak to me, and I love bringing them into my collection, even if just for a little while. Nothing excites me more than when a customer comes to me with a specific piece they need. I love the challenge of finding just the right thing. Sometimes I’ll even sell something from my private collection if it suits what someone is looking for. I like to live with the furniture first – really fall in love with it before I let it go. I only sell pieces I connect with – things I’d happily keep in my own home.”

With one-year-old and three-year-old at home, Amelia began sourcing, restoring and “flipping” mid-century furniture while teaching herself photography to elevate the online presence of her budding business. Things took off when she moved to a new home in Leichhardt with a small shopfront attached.

“I was blown away by the response and how strong the demand was for vintage furniture,” says Amelia, who spent hours researching, experimenting and learning the art of furniture restoration before, in 2023, demand grew so strong that she engaged artisan and restorations specialist Shawn Supra – now her business partner – to support Zander & Co’s continued expansion. “He had worked for various mid-century furniture businesses in Sydney and the US as a refinisher, and he also had a background in cabinet making. Bringing him on board really lifted our restoration quality and capacity. He’s incredibly meticulous and genuinely loves the challenge that each piece brings.”

After 18 months in Leichhardt, it was time to move again. “We needed somewhere with workshop space, but also somewhere we could live,” says Amelia. “Trying to find something that ticked all those boxes felt nearly impossible. When I visited our space in Annandale, I knew it was the one.” The building, originally a confectionery store built in 1905, had been home to various businesses over the years. “It had been thoughtfully renovated, keeping so many beautiful original details: old timber, brass fittings, antique panelling, high ceilings and even a spiral staircase,” she says. “I immediately knew it would be the perfect backdrop for our furniture. The best part was that it was pretty much ready to go. Aside from some drapery and new ceiling lights, we didn’t have to do much at all. We were just incredibly lucky that it already felt so right.”

In Annandale, Amelia found a space that met the requirements of family life and a growing design business all under one roof. “I have small kids,” she says, “and the house isn’t always as organised as I’d like. Thankfully, the showroom is only open to the public one day a week, and I do my best to make sure it looks nice enough for that one day.” But the honesty of the arrangement is essential to its charm. “Everyone’s life is a bit messy at times, and I think visitors actually enjoy seeing the furniture in a real home. It helps them imagine how the pieces might work in their own lives. There’s something nice about the overlap, letting the furniture be lived with, not just displayed.”

It’s a spatial ethos that dovetails with the design qualities that most appeal to the Zander & Co team. “I love that mid-century furniture can be restored to function and look almost exactly as it did when it first left the factory. Some pieces will still show signs of their past life, but I see that as part of their story and authenticity,” says Amelia, whose judicious choice of contemporary upholstery textiles helps transform each piece in ways that are both thoughtful and evocative. “There’s nothing more satisfying than taking a tired, worn-out piece with a dull finish and bringing it back to life – not to make it look brand new, but better than new, because it’s real vintage furniture with a real history, given a fresh new chapter.”

By celebrating the authenticity and time-worn patina of vintage pieces – and presenting them against evocatively layered, live-in scenography – Zander & Co has tapped into a broader appetite for experiencing art and design in a residential context. They eschew the cool, white-cube setting of a typical gallery or retail space in favour of something richly personal, redolent of history, and attuned to the realities of how we live now.

Call it the Milan effect – with the Italian style capital’s annual Design Week inspiring a tilt towards retail spaces that feel like eclectic, idiosyncratic abodes – or a blurring of public and private realms amid social media sharing and the post-Covid reshaping of work/life balance. Or perhaps it’s just our eternal curiosity about how other people live. Today, there is a shift away from viewing art and design at a curatorial remove, towards experiencing objects in settings that tell a story – emotionally resonant, mood-setting spaces that reflect the collecting tastes of the people who might live there.

It’s in this spirit of openness and creative cross-pollination that Amelia has now teamed up with Michael Reid Murrurundi for Pied-à-terre – a collaborative exhibition that will see beautifully restored pieces from the Zander & Co collection paired with a curated selection of new works by some of Australia’s most acclaimed and in-demand contemporary artists – all playing out in a sequence of styled living room vignettes within the gallery walls.

“We were really excited when Daniel Soma from Michael Reid invited us to be part of this exhibition. It felt like a great opportunity to showcase what we do best,” says Amelia. “We’ve included a few pieces that highlight our restoration work – like a beautiful FLER daybed and armchair in Queensland maple, a timber you rarely see – as well as some classic Parker designs. Parker is our best seller, probably because it’s so versatile: the proportions are easy to live with, restoration is straightforward, and the pieces effortlessly reimagine themselves in a contemporary context.”

For Amelia, a favourite aspect of living with her collection is the sense that the maker’s artistic sensibility and intention can be felt in each piece – the trace of the hand bringing a quiet beauty to the everyday. It’s this feeling of artisanship, originality, considered staging, and the mood-setting possibilities of a layered, eclectic space that forms the curatorial thread of Pied-à-terre, which will feature two of Amelia’s personal favourites from her collection: a George Korody traymobile with black vitrolite glass, and a Framac green terrazzo coffee table.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how it all comes together – the furniture, the art, and the space. I think people will respond with a sense of nostalgia. They usually do,” says Amelia, who sees restoration as a conscious act – a rebuke to throwaway culture in favour of more mindfully chosen, beautiful pieces that have already stood the test of time. “This kind of furniture often reminds people of the homes they grew up in, or their grandparents’ houses. It always sparks conversation, and it’s really special to hear the stories that come out of that.”

Amelia hopes gallery visitors will see the furniture in a new light as it plays out in conversation with a striking contemporary art collection from artists represented in the Michael Reid stable. “When they see [the furniture] restored and reimagined in a contemporary setting, it often shifts their perspective,” she says. “People tell me they regret getting rid of pieces they inherited once they realise how timeless and adaptable they really are. This kind of furniture helps them recreate a feeling — warmth, familiarity, happiness. New furniture can’t offer that same emotional connection.”

Pieces from the Zander & Co. collection will be on view in Pied-à-terre at Michael Reid Murrurundi from 7 August to 21 September. For more, visit zanderandco.com.au