About Di Emme
In the beginning….. 1981
Vashti Osterberg-Olsen, a newly graduated Bachelor of Fine Art from C.O.F.A, met Robert Gonda a graduate Bachelor of Commerce, from N.S.W.U. At first it seemed these two had nothing in common bar a few friends. Vashti recalls “Robert was working as an auditor when I first met him and I thought, how boring counting other peoples’ money.” Robert on the other hand thought Vashti was most odd but interesting in the way she examined everything around her. “I remember her investigating rubbish accumulated in drain pipes, the bark on trees, the textures and patterns of fences, all sorts of things I had never really taken much notice of. Then she would go away and turn her investigations into some amazing piece of art.”
A business born…..1982
Though quite opposite in their vocations, Vashti and Robert discovered that they both loved snow skiing, water skiing, fishing, traveling and people. Vashti exposed Rob to the arts and Rob explained commerce to Vashti.
By the end of 1982 this unlikely but entrepreneurial pair had started the first commercial fine art consultancy business in Australia. Di Emme Fine Art Consulting provided a professional and comprehensive consulting service to the corporate and hospitality industries nationally.
Global and business expansion….1986
From 1982 to 1986 Di Emme Fine Art Consulting notched up a client list that read like the Who’s Who business directory and had expanded into Asia and the Middle East.
From their experiences and involvement, particularly in large scale projects, Vashti and Robert recognized the need for an artistic “one stop shop” for design professionals to rely on.
In 1986 they changed the name of the fine art consulting business to Art Incorporate and established Di Emme Creative Solutions as a separate but complimentary business to Art Incorporate. In creating Di Emme Creative Solutions they were able to build up a studio environment employing artisans and craftspeople as collaborators in their vision to assist design professionals realize their creative visions.
Imagination to Reality…. 1986-2010
In 1986, at the inception of Di Emme Creative Solutions, the company’s motto “Imagination To Reality” was born, when Robert stated “Ideas are inspirational. Effectively developing an idea requires discipline while captivating its reality takes ingenuity.”
Di Emme Creative Solutions was structured to provide custom artistic services within two main divisions; 2D ( being painted and applied finishes, murals and trompe l’oeil) and 3D (fabrications utilizing carpentry, metal work, fiber glassing, sculpting, mold making etc). To make the business the ultimately user friendly resource, the artistic divisions were united with project management and design development services.
For the past 24 years design professionals around the world have relied on Di Emme Creative Solutions as collaborators in bringing their creative concepts to fruition.
Just to mention a few examples: Di Emme 2D executed all the decorative paint finishes and murals for the Empire Hotel, Brunei, including the tromp l’oeil atrium ceiling which is the size of a football field. Dick Smith Electronics customers have followed the Di Emme “worm” around the supper stores and listened to music at the Di Emme fabricated “Listening Posts”. 3D and 2D combined to replicate a chime of 12 bronze Tang Dynasty bells (1600 mm ht each ) for the National History Museum, Singapore. Lend Lease relied on Di Emme to research its company history and create museum quality displays for its then head office in Australia Square, Sydney. The elephants at Taronga Park Zoo are very happy with the themed environment Di Emme created for them and their admirers, while hundred of thousands of visitors to Australia Wildlife Park, Darling Harbour, are photographed with the Di Emme realistic sculptures of Kangaroos, Wombats, Cassowaries, Green Fog and Fruit Bat.
Di Emme Creative Solutions is a company with a diverse field of expertise and a long history, so whether a feature light, a water feature, sculpture, mural, paint finish, themed environment or Stonini clad wall, the chances are you have experienced something, somewhere that Di Emme Creative Solutions has had a hand in.
Diversity and Designer Products
1989 For years the 3D division of Di Emme had been cold casting and finishing sculptural and decorative features using metal powders in resins to achieve beautiful metallic appearances for clients, accommodating restricted budgets and / or design requirements where real metals weren’t suitable.
Recognizing that this methodology could be beneficial to clients as an available product, Robert set out to find a polymer chemist to develop the formula for the product he had in mind.
1990 Metafinish was registered as the trade mark name for Di Emme Creative Solutions Pty Ltd’s liquid metal coating system.
1994 Di Emme developed a method of applying clear glass beads to a variety of substrate materials, wallpaper and custom graphics to create surfaces with wonderfully tactile, reflective & refractive qualities. The trade mark Caviar Glassbeads was registered.
1998 Vashti and Robert both identified a gap in the market for a light weight fabricated wall cladding that offered texture and dimension. R & D commenced on the now branded Stonini Profilestone Panels.
2002 Stonini Profilestone Panels was registered and the formula and technology was patented then launched at Designex as an internal wall cladding with a range of six profiles specifiable in 3 colours with the additional option of mica or sand additives.
2003-2005 Development on the Stonini formula to allow the product to be released for external use and to suit curved installation.
2006 Eight new profiles are added to the Stonini range and sixty six designer colours are offered. Most importantly the formula has been revised so that Stonini Profilestone Panels can be specified for exterior use as well as for interiors.
2007 Metaflex is registered as the trade mark for Di Emme’s cast, flexible, Metafinish sheeting product.
2008 Everyone is talking and thinking environmental so Di Emme analises all its production methods and materials. It is identified that Metafinish would be much improved environmentally if the coating system incorporated waterborn resin. Stonini materials and production is 98% environmentally sound.
2009 Chiaro Screens is the latest designer offering added to Di Emme’s repertoire. Following a trip to Broome WA, Vashti created a series of Australian landscape inspired artworks with designs suitable for laser cutting screens and printing.
2009 The Delta range of smooth surfaced Stonini is launched to a very accepting market.
2010 Metafinish is re-launched as the first water born, environmentally friendly liquid metal coating system.
