About

A little bit about me, written by the lovely Joana Partyka at Outlier "If you happen to find yourself one day wandering the back streets of Perth’s north-western ‘burb Bassendean, keep your eyes peeled for a curious sight that might behold you. On the verandah of an ordinary-looking cottage often sits a woman straddling a pottery wheel. There, she shapes slab after slab of earthenware clay into petite mugs and vases, her hands bathed in russet-toned slurry as she works. 

That woman is Sonja Danilovic, someone you might describe as, well, motivated. At first glance, her numerous projects are an unrelated series of itches she made it her business to scratch. But looking at her career a little deeper, it’s apparent there’s a clear thread linking her multiple vocations—each of which is a genuine profession in its own right. 

Danilovic’s main gig is as the creative director of Nude Design Studio, a graphic design business she co-founded with her partner John Durey around a decade ago. Since then, Nude has grown into one of Perth’s most interesting and innovative design studios, producing beautiful work for prestige local clients like Chicho Gelato, Twin Peaks Coffee Roasters and footwear company Half Measures.

Danilovic and Durey are also partners in Kafka Coffee Shop, a hole-in-the-wall they opened together with Helen in the quiet end of bustling Northbridge—on the same site from which Nude operates, in fact It’s through Kafka that the pottery comes in. Unable to find cups she liked for use in the café, Danilovic decided to make her own (as you do). In the process, she inadvertently created Sole Ceramics, which is now stocked across Perth including, yes, at Kafka. 

And as if that wasn’t enough, Danilovic is also a mother to two young kids. We spoke to her over mid-morning beers (again, as you do) late last year to find out her story and how the hell she fits it all in."