50 Years of WL: #29 Martha Sturdy’s Enviable Style

The polyglot that is Martha Sturdy is definitely in the running for most consistent presence in WL over the years. There she is in March 1984 as a model, rocking her own soon-to-be-ubiquitous oversized jewellery. And then, ten years later, there'sa page of her on-point experiments in resin. Then, another seven years later, her furniture design is front and centre, and countless times in between too numerous to mention. But one of our fave stories was the feature on her homestead in Pemberton (before anyone thought Pemberton was a thing) written by our own beloved editor Bruce Grierson. It's a snapshot of an artist at rest, sporting both real work boots and an eternally chic bob, and it spawned a generation of sophisticated citygoers dreaming about chucking it all to retreat to a rural idyll. Martha, you€™ve single-handedly raised our collective style IQs.

Credit: David Fierro/Western Living March 2000

A steel table from Martha Sturdy's furniture line serves as a perfect platform from a March 2000 fashion shoot.

Credit: Jane Weitzel/Western Living October 1995

The effortlessly cool Sturdy in workboots at her Pemberton farm in October 1995.

Credit: Raeff Miles

The style icon today.

To read about more great people, designs, homes and innovations that shaped Western Living, click here.