Studio Shields

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Studio Shields

Designing interiors with bold colour, bespoke joinery & layered materiality with a signature twist

30/10/2026

•SHE HAS EMERGED!•

Well, I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t hoping for the top spot. I’m fiercely competitive, ambitious and always pushing myself to be better. But there’s also something pretty bloody special about having your work recognised by the very people you admire in this industry.

So, while the competitive little beast in me will always be hungry for more, I am genuinely grateful to receive a commendation for The (Emerging) Designer Awards at the 2026 IDEA Awards.

The View is a testament to what happens when curiosity, creativity and resourcefulness become the foundations of design.

Pat and I spent seven years transforming this home, challenging ourselves to find possibility in materials otherwise discarded, overlooked or considered ordinary.

I believe that when we constantly reach for something new, we can lose sight of what is possible with what we already have. Sometimes the greatest creativity comes from limitations, questioning conventions and finding beauty in the unexpected.

Our DNA is intertw**ed in every detail. A home grounded in place, narrative and individuality, created by thinking beyond the white box.

This home was never simply a project or a stepping stone in our careers. It is our life. It has opened doors and set us on a path we could never have imagined.

As much as we transformed this house, it transformed us. And for that, I will be forever grateful.

The jury said:
“Ruby Shields is a practitioner doing genuinely exciting work. The View is a home that allows character and personality to come to the fore, tempered by just enough restraint that every element sits comfortably within the whole.”

Thank you to the jury for the recognition and to artedomus & The Local Project for this platform. Congrats to all the other designers, makers and architects who were shortlisted and awarded. An incredible achievement.

Onwards & upwards. There’s plenty more to come 🤎

P.S PATRICK SHIELDS is as much a winner as myself! Unfortunately, my mug is the one you see. But behind this project was a masterful creator and partner. Couldn’t have done it without you by my side ~ congrats superstar ✨

29/10/2026

A little collab with King Living shot beautifully at our home, The View 🤎

22/10/2026

•A LOVE LETTER TO COLOUR, COLLECTIONS & THE ART OF LIVING•

What can one of Australia’s most celebrated painters teach us about interior design? Quite a lot, actually!

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Lara Chapman for Habitus about Margaret Olley, her extraordinary interiors and the parallels between her approach to art and my own approach to design.

And my goodness, there are a few!

COLOUR IS NOT THE RISK ~
Olley famously believed white walls were the death of paintings. I’ve never understood why white is considered safe and colour brave. Every colour carries emotion, including white. Sometimes the richer, more saturated choice is exactly what gives a room warmth and conviction.

OUR HOMES ARE AUTOBIOGRAPHIES ~
At Studio Shields, I believe a home should tell the stories of those who live within it. Through inherited objects, collected treasures, furniture, art and the things we simply cannot part with. Their value isn’t always monetary, but sentimental, nostalgic and deeply personal. Much like Olley’s paintings, our homes become autobiographies of a moment in time & life.

ABUNDANCE IS AN ART FORM ~
Olley’s rooms were gloriously full, but never without composition. Colour, scale, rhythm and contrast brought everything together. It’s something I consider constantly. A room isn’t simply a collection of beautiful things. It’s how those things speak to one another that creates the magic.

And as for having too many jugs? (Ceramic goblets in my case!) Once you have enough, it’s no longer a problem. It’s a collection. That’s simply good curation!

A HOME SHOULD NEVER BE FINISHED ~
Move things around. Rediscover forgotten objects. Let your rooms evolve alongside you. Some of the most beautiful interiors are those that continue to grow over a lifetime.

Perhaps my favourite takeaway is that a home doesn’t need to be grand, fashionable or perfectly resolved to be worthy of attention.

It just needs to feel like you belong there.

A huge thank you to Lara and Habitus for bringing my work into dialogue with an Australian artist whose approach to colour, collecting and domestic life resonates so deeply.

Read the full interview via Habitus 🎨✨

19/10/2026

•A REFLECTION ON SYNTHESIS ~ ROMPICAPO•

Looking back at Synthesis, I keep finding myself returning to the pieces within it. Not simply for how they looked, but for the stories, conversations and hands behind them.

So, a little reflection on Rompicapo by Mood Workshop ~ Our bar, our reception desk and, over the course of Melbourne Design Week, the unofficial heart of Synthesis by Studio Shields

It became the place where people gathered. Where many, many drinks were poured, conversations started, laughs were had, and strangers became a little less strange.

In an exhibition built around collective voices, Rompicapo became a place for connection.

The Bishop’s Parlour is rich with history, from its encaustic tiles underfoot to the incredible stained glass filtering light into the room. Rather than placing something contemporary into the space and ignoring what was already there, we wanted Rompicapo to speak directly to it.

Looking closely at the stained glass, we were inspired by the way craftspeople had joined individual fragments to create one larger composition. That same technique became the foundation for Rompicapo, translated through a completely different material: ALPI wood from Elton Group

Different grains, colours and patterns were pieced together almost like fragments of glass, a puzzle of contemporary material referencing a craft that had occupied the Parlour for generations.

Which is where the name came from. Rompicapo ~ Italian for “puzzle”. A little nod to the process, and to the veneers themselves, developed, designed and made in Italy.

Together with Craig and the brilliant team at Mood Workshop we designed a piece that could belong to the architecture without pretending to be part of its history. Something new, built from the language of something old.

And thanks to our wonderful material sponsor Elton Group we had some seriously delicious veneers to play with.

Designed collaboratively with Mood Workshop
Crafted by the clever hands at Mood Workshop  Veneers by ALPI wood , supplied by Elton Group

16/10/2026

•SYNTHESIS ~ THE IDEA•

Synthesis was never about putting a lot of beautiful things into a beautiful old room.

It was about creating an immersive interior.

For MDW 2026, I brought together more than 45 Australian artists, designers and makers inside the Bishop’s Parlour. But the ambition was never to create a group exhibition where individual works simply occupied the same space.

I wanted to explore what happens when many creative voices are genuinely synthesised into one.

Furniture, art, lighting, textiles and objects were composed into domestic vignettes. Colour moved from object to object. Materials spoke to one another. The stained glass, encaustic tiles and heritage details became part of the design language.

And it went far beyond what you could see.

We developed a scent. Sound shaped the atmosphere. Lighting transformed the materials. I even commissioned a custom outfit to wear within the installation, extending the visual language.

Every. Bloody. Detail.

Synthesis was an exploration of the emotional capacity of interiors. How colour, material, light, scent and objects can change the way we feel and connect with a space. To show what happens when you disregard the white box and really, truly take the leap.

It was also an experiment in collective authorship. Each creator with their own language and story, woven together without losing what made them distinctive.

The greatest joy was opening those doors. Watching the public, designers and our creative community discover new artists, meet the makers and connect. Sharing their stories was an absolute privilege.

Even more rewarding is seeing those connections continue, with artists and makers from Synthesis now in multiple publications, reaching new audiences and finding opportunities beyond the exhibition.

Because great curation doesn’t end when the exhibition closes.

Synthesis wasn’t maximalism for maximalism’s sake.
Not ornament for ornament’s sake.
Not a collection of things.

It was a composition. A space with memory. With personality. With weight. With magic.

SYNTHESIS
🧚‍♀️ Curated by 𝗥 𝗨 𝗕 𝗬 𝗦 𝗛 𝗜 𝗘 𝗟 𝗗 𝗦
🗓️ National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Design Week 26
📸 Martina Gemmola

See you next year, be ready ✨

14/10/2026

PROFILE 🐂💥✨

Recently featured in Habitus Issue #67 with the guest editor Jase Sullivan has pulled together a fabulous mix of people & projects & where Gillian Serisier interviewed me for a profile piece and, safe to say, we got a bit deep.

We talked about the whole messy trajectory ~ from advertising art director, to chopping off my long blonde hair, dyeing it red and essentially rebirthing myself as Ruby Shields. About being told I was “too much”, being a bull in a china shop, and eventually realising that maybe being too much was actually the whole bloody point.

We talked about originality, fiercely protecting ideas, why I refuse to copy + paste interiors, the weird little personality quiz I make my clients do, my passionate dislike of white and beige interiors, how art is a starting point rather than an afterthought, and throwing our savings (and basically every ounce of myself) into Synthesis by Studio Shields for Melbourne Design Week.

There’s also crying in the shower, sex-toy coats of arms, Schiaparelli, Kelly Wearstler and the immortal Australian phrase: “I wasn’t there to fk spiders.”

So, quite the profile really.

But underneath all of it is something I feel incredibly strongly about: building a studio with a distinct voice and creating interiors that could only belong to the people who live within them. Not another version of something we’ve already seen. Not something designed for everyone to like. Something specific, layered, personal and hopefully a little unexpected.

As I apparently told Gillian:

“We’re all fighting for our piece of the pond. When you’ve defined yourself, you have to hold that line.”

And I think that pretty much sums it up.

A huge thank you to Habitus Gillian Serisier for giving me the space to tell the story ~ bulls, love bombs, wrecking balls and all. ❤️‍🔥

Habitus Issue #67, out now.

Images captured by the formidable Martina Gemmola featuring Synthesis, Joy Haus & our home The View.

12/10/2026

•SYNTHESIS ~ WHERE IT ALL BEGAN•

It started with an idea.

What if we took the objects we usually experience individually at design weeks, on plinths, against white walls, removed from any real sense of living, and put them back into an interior?

Not a showroom. Not a traditional group exhibition.

A home.

For MDW, I wanted to create a space that showed Australian art and design as I believe it is meant to be experienced: in conversation with one another.

So I took over the Bishop’s Parlour at Abbotsford Convent and began building a world.

An extraordinary heritage room became the framework for something entirely contemporary. More than 45 Australian artists, designers and makers came together across furniture, art, lighting, textiles and objects, woven into one immersive interior.

And Synthesis was born.

What happened next was bigger than I could have imagined.

Over 20,000 people moved through the space during Melbourne Design Week. There were drinks at the bar, bodies on the sofa, conversations between strangers, makers meeting makers, people touching things, sitting amongst them, asking questions and staying far longer than we ever expected.

It became exactly what I hoped it would be: alive.

And somehow, it kept going long after we closed the doors.

Synthesis found its way into Yellowtrace Vogue Living , Belle magazine Channel 9 News and far beyond Australia. Images travelled. Conversations continued. Months later, people are still talking to me about that room.

That might be the part I’m proudest of.

Because Synthesis wasn’t created as an aesthetic exercise. It came from a very specific idea about what an interior exhibition could be and a belief that interior design has the power to bring completely different creative voices together and make them feel like they have always belonged in the same room.

I conceived and curated Synthesis through Studio Shields, alongside an incredible collective of Australian creatives who trusted me with their work and helped turn a slightly bonkers idea in my head into something very, very real.

Synthesis by Studio Shields || curated by Ruby Shields for National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Design Week 2026 || Captured by Martina Gemmola

07/10/2026

•HOTY 2026 ~ SHORTLISTED!•

This one feels enormous. Our home, The View, has been selected as one of just 27 projects shortlisted for Habitus House of the Year 2026.

To see our little house sitting amongst the work of some of Australia’s most renowned architects and designers, practices and people whose work I have looked to and admired for years, is incredibly humbling.

A bit surreal, actually. Which I have said a lot this year... I know. But I still can’t quite get over it all.

The View is so much more than a project to us. It is seven years of PATRICK SHIELDS and I making, changing, salvaging, experimenting, learning and slowly figuring out who we were as designers and makers. We built so much ourselves, often because we simply couldn’t afford to do it any other way. What we lacked in budget and experience, we filled with ideas, resourcefulness and a very enthusiastic “let’s give it a go.”

Somewhere along the way, our DNA became woven into every part of it.

The View became the place where Studio Shields really began. Almost everything I believe about design now ~ colour, craft, collecting, storytelling, resourcefulness and making a home deeply representative of the people who live there was learnt within these walls.

It is colourful, imperfect, handmade, collected and deeply personal.

Pat’s hand is everywhere. Mine is too. It holds the work of artists, designers and makers we love, alongside things we have made ourselves, things we salvaged and things that have simply found their way home.

We will probably never make another house quite like this one. And I think that’s what makes it so special.

To have Habitus recognise it, and place it within this extraordinary collection of Australian design, means more to us than I can properly put into sophisticated words.

A very special home. A very special journey. And a very, very special little moment for Studio Shields.

People’s choice voting is open! And you should VOTE FOR US!!! ✨🧚‍♀️

You can read our Q&A with Dakota Bennet which gives a little more insight into this home ~ Link in Bio

Thank you Habitus 🤎
Photography by the ever talented Martina Gemmola

06/10/2026

•WISHLIST•

A little peek inside my current (uncut version) shopping wish list for The Design Files feature today 🌷🍒🧚🏼‍♀️

Maybe it’s spring, maybe it’s the jasmine filling the air, or maybe it’s the new 2026 ERDEM spring collection ~ florals! stripes! bold colour! but I am DEEP in my folklore, fairy, whimsical era right now.

My eyes are wandering towards things that feel a little strange, sculptural, nostalgic, mythical and full of personality. Vintage Isparta rugs next to contemporary Australian design. Earthy browns with hits of lime.

Beautiful art from Renée Estée , weird little creatures by Lilach Ben Sasson Mileikowski , chunky forms like the Stanley lounge from Dowel Jones , sculpted forms like the bark stool by Jacqueline Kaytar (which I am currently paying off) whacky Murano glass chandelier and things that make absolutely no sense together until suddenly… they do.

Because that’s really how I love to build an interior. Thread by thread, story by story, collecting things that make you feel something until you’ve created a world that could only belong to you.

My current wish list is a rather delicious mix of pieces for home, pieces already making their way into Studio Shields projects and a few dream acquisitions I’ll continue staring longingly at until my bank account catches up with my eyes & heart.

Thank you The Design Files for letting me indulge my inner (affluent) bowerbird 🐦‍⬛✨

05/10/2026

•IN THE PRESS•

Our beloved Joy Haus is in the new issue of Houses : Kitchens + Bathrooms issue 21 and this one has put a very big smile on my face.

A home that really does live up to its name ~ bold, expressive and bursting with as much personality as the beautiful family who lives within it.

Colour became a way of telling their story throughout the house. Blues echo the nearby ocean, burgundy draws from the richness of the earth, soft yellow amplifies the morning light and bright orange appears as a little wry smile 🧡 a reflection of our clients and their fabulous outlook on life.

The kitchen sits at the heart of it all. Cork underfoot, Cherry Blossom marble, stainless steel, colour and plenty of room for the rhythms of family life ~ breakfast, homework, cooking, a glass of w**e and friends gathered around the island.

As you move into the more private spaces, the palette deepens and the mood shifts. The primary ensuite becomes immersive and calming, while the children’s bathroom goes in the opposite direction ~ powder blue, chunky bulbous forms and little handles that look like sea creatures emerging from the joinery. Over the top, bright and FUN 🛁🫧

Each room has its own personality, but together they form one chromatic journey through the home ~ balancing place, people, mood and a little element of surprise.

It’s incredibly special seeing Joy Haus captured in print and having the story behind all that colour told so beautifully.

Thank you HOUSES for capturing the heart of this project so beautifully. And forever grateful to my wonderful clients for trusting me to make their family home a little bit wild, a little unexpected and very, very joyful ✨

Project~ Joy Haus, Mount Eliza
Featured ~ Houses
Words ~ Rebecca Gross Interior Design + Decoration ~ 𝗥 𝗨 𝗕 𝗬 𝗦 𝗛 𝗜 𝗘 𝗟 𝗗 𝗦
Built by ~ INNER URBAN GROUP
Photography ~ Martina Gemmola
Stylist ~ Jessica Rayment

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