Sarah Jamieson

Sarah Jamieson

We were on our usual promenade walk when we bumped into Sarah who was just coming out of the surf. She was exuding health and well-being which drew our old(er) bodies to her.

Sarah’s design business Catseye Bay “foregrounds process and experimentation” and has an impressive list of clients under its belt. Her PhD “‘Catseye design techniques’ experimented with foregrounding process, movement and forces in commercial design projects” was awarded with “recognition of outstanding work in 2020”.

“I used to live in Paddington— and drive to Bondi at sunrise, most days to surf.

I found the morning traffic on the way home frustrating, so I rented a single car garage from Gumtree in North Bondi and used it as a studio. I am a designer and I found that surfing during my work day, worked.

I mean really worked—as in I noted how surfing influenced the way I moved through the process of the projects I was designing. I became so curious about this that I did a doctorate to explore the relationship between my surfing and designing.

In the final year of my PhD, I moved to the old brownstone building next to Bondi Public. I drank my morning coffee on the steps outside the Pav, deciding what board to ride.

I love living here - being in a relationship with the weather and surf conditions, and allowing it to shape my days and ways around a schedule that’s not man made.

I’ve been here for five years now —- and I feel like I am home”.