Jon Francis

– Designer | Builder | Artist –

The journey with design, art and building has been a learning curve with roots found in early childhood. My parents must have seen something early on as they allowed me to draw on the walls of my bedrooms whatever took my fancy. Signs of things to come! The hands getting dirty building was found with my parents undertaking several home builds and renovations during these early years.

So early on in the piece I was opened to the art of design and the pragmatics of making the design envisaged by mind’s eye. The connection, for me was built in.

With hands still tingling at memories of reclaiming bricks a natural progression led to a Building apprenticeship in 1988 that culminated in roles in design and project management for Australia’s largest construction firms by 2000. I designed and built my first home in Mt Glorious during this period. Progressing this deep desire for design I established a design and construct company in 2001. Designing and building homes and small commercial projects for clients of various scale and budget for the next 15 years.

I set aside the building in 2016 attending the university of Queensland school of architecture, thirsty to gain knowledge of the theory of architecture. I coupled these academic studies with a role of State manager of a Global housing charity. Collaborating with senior architectural staff at UQ in affordable suburban renewal models. The Bachelor’s degree was completed in 2019 with Deans recommendations for academic excellence. A big tick and a great period of learning and experimenting

I now consider myself an all-rounder. I strive to achieve a balanced approach between the artistic and the pragmatic. I am dedicated to find the ‘magic in the real’ for each project undertaken. With aim to celebrate the beauty found in design tethered to practice of realising it.