Toad Takeover: From Pest to Purpose

Participants

Lia Tabrah
Lia Tabrah is a multidisciplinary artist, designer and curator whose bold, socially engaged practice spans fashion, sculpture and material innovation. She is best known for pioneering the development of ethically sourced Australian cane toad leather – a world-first project that transforms one of the nation’s most destructive invasive species into a luxury design material.At the heart of Lia’s practice is a drive to turn ecological crisis into opportunity. She develops regenerative materials and methods that are both environmentally and culturally transformative, building a model for how art and design can lead systemic change.Her curatorial and exhibition work has been presented by the National Gallery of Victoria, Bendigo Art Gallery, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Craft Victoria and MONA (Museum of Old and New Art).Through her curatorial platform VERMIN, Lia brings together artists, scientists and First Nations collaborators to confront urgent ecological and cultural challenges, centring cross-disciplinary collaboration and community knowledge.She has collaborated with many of Australia’s celebrated creatives – including Jenny Bannister, Ken Done, Linda Jackson, Lisa Waup, The Huxleys and Kate Rohde – and has exhibited in programs such as Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melbourne Design Week and Craft Contemporary.In 2019, Lia collaborated with Kirsha Kaechele on Eat the Problem, a major MONA exhibition and publication that reimagined invasive species as art and haute cuisine.Most recently, she was selected for the RUIC program (Regional University Industry Collaboration), funded by the Queensland Government and facilitated by CSIRO, marking a major step forward in her mission to develop zero-waste, luxury-grade cane toad leather that meets international fashion standards.Her work has been featured on ABC TV, NHK Japan and in Marie Claire Australia and The Guardian.

Simone Agius
Simone Agius is a Melbourne/Naarm-based leather artisan, bag designer and founder of simétrie, established in 2018. She holds a Bachelor of Fashion Design from RMIT (2011) and is largely self-taught in leatherworking, having developed her craft and knowledge of bag construction through hands-on experience, including roles at Busyman Bicycles (2011–13), Mimco (2012–16) and as a freelance bag designer for Melbourne brands.simétrie handcrafts sculptural leather bags and accessories from Australian materials, including Leather Working Group-certified bovine leather and vegetable-tanned wild kangaroo leather. Working from her Brunswick atelier, Simone often collaborates with other artisans, producing made-to-order pieces with lifetime warranties that challenge fast fashion through quality and repairability.Simone presented Future Heritage: Crafting Tomorrow at Melbourne Design Week 2025, an exhibition exploring sustainable craftswomanship through material displays, live demonstrations and design documentation. She regularly participates in The Big Design Market and has offered bag-making workshops from her studio since 2018.During Melbourne Fashion Week 2025, simétrie presented Wild & Crafted, where she hosted live bag-making demonstrations and an intimate supper-club style dinner with Léonie Bouchet from Racine, exploring ethical consumption.

Kirk Ireland
Kirk Ireland is a designer, maker and upholsterer. She has an established upholstery practice, specialising in designing custom furniture and second-hand furniture restoration. She is experienced in working with unconventional materials and traditional upholstery techniques.With Lia Tabrah, Kirk is co-founder of the Three Litres label, making tongue-in-cheek designer bags based on ‘goon bag’ wine bladders.She works as a designer and upholsterer for local furniture brand Harbro.Kirk launched her first label, Kirk Couture, in 2000, creating bags and accessories. With a background in sculpture, design, fashion and art, she has also worked in the product and interior design industries.She ran design store Quirk & Co from 2010 to 2018 and has participated in Craft Victoria and Melbourne Fashion Week programs with Three Litres (2024) and Kirk Couture (2011), and produced a range of pet accessories for Craft as part of its Pet Shop exhibition in 2024.

Kate Rohde
Kate Rohde completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2001. Since then she has become known for her intensely colourful jewellery and sculptural object-based practice, now working predominantly with resin and hand-casting techniques.Recent exhibitions include Luminous Realms, a solo survey of her work since 2006 at Craft; Magic Object, the 2016 Biennial of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia; 21st Century Heide at Heide Museum of Modern Art; and Obsessed: Compelled to make at the Australian Design Centre. In 2015 she was a finalist in the Rigg Design Prize at the National Gallery of Victoria.Other projects include collaborating with Sydney fashion house Romance Was Born on their 2010–11 S/S collection Renaissance Dinosaur and 2011 A/W collection Fruits and Flowers. Her work is held in the collections of several institutions, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of South Australia and Bendigo Art Gallery.Kate is represented by Pieces of Eight Gallery, Melbourne/Naarm.