Winya: Indigenous angle to premium office furniture and more

Majority Indigenous owned and staffed Winya has done office fitouts for large corporations and government offices including Lendlease, Telstra, the ATO and the Department of Defence.

Its premium office furniture is “best in class”, one of its directors Greg Welsh says. Being supported by a number of renowned Indigenous artists means Winya can work with you to create beautiful designs for unique, bespoke pieces.

It also works with Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, employing “socially remote” people to create the arms and legs for new lounges. The timbers used are salvaged from mine site clearing that would otherwise have been burned.

A new business they’ve started up – e-Board – involves recycling 92 per cent of the timber in old timber/melamine desks and cupboards to make sustainable new boards for new furniture.

In 2017, Winya won the Banksia Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability Award and an Architecture & Design Sustainability Award too.

It is a certified B Corporation, meaning it has met “rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and and transparency”.