Winner! PerkyPod plant pot wins the 2024 Australian Good Design Award for Homewares

A humble plant pot takes on the Aussie design scene...

If there is one thing every product inventor aspires to in Australia, it is being considered for the annual Good Design Awards. At a glittery evening in the Grand Ballroom at the International Convention Centre on the banks of Darling Habour, you get to mingle not just with the host, Larry Emdur, but some of the biggest stalwarts of the design scene: Teslar, Samsung and Volvo to name a few. I felt surrounded by more smarts than a world chess convention!

Esteemed company

The nominees covered every category you could possibly imagine. We heard about surgical platforms that have revolutionised the healthcare industry by improving patient outcomes. There was a product that replaces batteries by converting kinetic energy into electricity in support of renewable power sources. Tickling my civil engineering brain, a clog-resistance smart storm drain was profiled, which traps solid waste and ensures the free flow of stormwater to prevent flooding in urban areas. The evening was full of impressive stories and astounding feats of creativity.

To me, no one was more important than my husband who stayed home in Newcastle with our three children. He supported my crazy vision to invent a plant pot that makes plant watering free of mess, stress and lifting, from the start. He's helped me prove that ANYONE can become a green thumb and stop killing their plants, if they have a pot to help them.

PerkyPod plant pot: winner!

For PerkyPod to be a winner in the Homewares and Objects category was a real pinch-me moment. After all, four years ago, PerkyPod was simply a rough sketch in the notebook of an Air Force engineer and mum of three who was overwhelmed with all the plant chores that she never had time for. At that stage, I was still regularly searching the web for a solution: a plant pot that would allow me to water my plants without worrying about stress, mess, or lifting, and preferably without killing them! I didn't want puddles. And I certainly was sick of lifting and carrying them.

It was an honour to share the evening with my industrial design team, Design Anthology. Josh and Aimee were there to receive two other awards as well!

We're not in Newcastle anymore, Toto

The evening commenced will me with getting dressed in a bouncy red ballgown that I thought I'd never wear again after an Air Force ball five years ago. Having recently had toe surgery, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to slip into some high heels for the first time in many months - and there was no pain! Yipeeee, I was already winning.

Upon getting to the Grand Ballroom at Darling Harbour, I was immediately impressed with all the stylish people milling around in the lobby. You could tell they were some Australia's best architects and designers. They just looked so fancy. I'm from Newcastle and grew up in New South Wales' Central West region... I certainly wasn't in the country anymore!

Formalities

But I can't lie: the next hour was busy with... a lot of standing around in queues. Not so glamourous. We had to have our tickets scanned. Then we had to get a little card that nominated our trophy collection desk. Along with my industrial design team, we collected our trophy packages and we all decided to save the professional photo zone until later. By that stage, we were a bit over queuing and my stomach was grumbling!

Now the fun part

Up the stairs we went to be greeted by trays of bubbly and canapés. Once we figured out how to juggle trophies, napkins, nibbles and wine (always the priority!), we got to relax and absorb the exciting atmosphere. We eventually sat down at our table and were treated to a delicious three course meal. Those that know me will not be surprised to hear me say that the dessert was the stand out! It was a chocolate and vanilla mousse dome with honeycomb, nuts and caramel ice cream. I agree with Larry's assessment that it was like a fancy Gaytime - so yum!

Merry endings

The night concluded around midnight and I hot-footed it for the Uber queue out front. There wasn't much competition at the taxi rank as most of the young folk were partying on with an array of bar carts that had opened up inside. It was hard to knock back an espresso martini offering but this mumma was tired and had a two hour drive home the next morning. Sleep always takes priority with me!

The end

It was such a wonderful night and definitely felt worthy of the three years of research and development that myself and my team invested into PerkyPod. Fine tuning our design was a labour of love and not always easy to fit in around full time work and mumming. "Immense pride" is the feeling that best describes my mood, though I hope that doesn't sound braggy. But "humbled" and "chuffed" just do not cut it on this occasion.

Getting the famous tick of approval has definitely been worth it.