Art, Design, Crafts 

• Art: aging with beauty

• Design: embedding fantasy in the function

• Crafts: using our human hands

hj-duo mirrors the world that Hua Li and James Richards live in as both work and life partners. 

Hua, a Chinese-born, Melbourne-based artist and interior designer, has worked on high-end hotel, commercial and retail projects in Australia and China since 2000. Her multicultural background and experience in design and art practice have formed a unique approach to work on each project, characterised by a strong identity.

James, an industrial designer and skilled luxury furniture maker in Melbourne since 2011, or more accurately, since his childhood on a farm in northern Victoria, possesses a wealth of technical knowledge in working with various materials: metal, stone and wood, breathing life into each piece with humbled craftsmanship. 

We combine our decades of design experience with a wealth of knowledge in materials and techniques to create exceptional furniture and art. Each ‘hj-duo’ piece carries effortless elegance and unexpected details, acts as a reminder to slow down and enjoy the present moment.

We live in Melbourne with a cat, a garden, a workshop, a music studio, and our daughter, Duo Richards. We surround ourselves with multi-talented resources. We’d love to share what has inspired us with you.