A research, design, and ideas lab - born out of the Museum of Sticks & Stones.

The Studio

Based in Meanjin/Brisbane, Australia.

Years of brave new ideas - and counting.

Countries planted with the Mettlesome project flag.

10+

Million people directly impacted through our projects.

Office dog with a taste for croissants.

Our Work

What we do

Building brave ideas to address big social problems, in partnership with good organisations.

Research

"In the end, we will conserve only what we love, and love only what we understand." - Wangari Maathai

We love a good question. We might love answering questions more. We've worked to inquire, understand, and unpack questions ranging from 'how do we reduce loneliness in elders?' to 'what does modern media classification look like?' and 'what's the best way to help people choose different behaviours online?' - no matter the question, our method is deeply rooted in analytical study, co-design, and participatory research.

Strategy

"There are 360 degrees - why stick to just one?" - Zaha Hadid

Figuring out the how is one of our specialities. Charting the steps you need to get from here to there can be difficult, but our approach is to break things down to first principles, and easy to understand information. Whether its a framework for employee wellbeing, or a campaign strategy to help develop more safe homes for kids - we like to think of it as cartography of ideas.

Development

"It's not every day you wake up with a mission in mind, but I had a mission and I was determined to accomplish it." - Katherine Johnson

There's nothing like getting to build the thing. Whether it's curating public spaces for common ground, designing digital products for mental health, or a campaign to help people find their good work, we're experts at bringing things to life.

Our History

Better worlds are imagined by dreamers and built by innovators. We’re committed to both.

Est. 2017

Mettlesome was born, from the mental health and social cohesion non-profit Museum of Sticks & Stones, to act as an innovation lab. We continue to work on research and development for our parent entity, while partnering with good organisations - from universities, to government, non-profits, and private entities - to solve big social problems.

Ever courageous.

Since our inception, we've developed a reputation for being bold, surprising, and full of pluck. We've worked on creating new and safe homes for thousands of kids in need, developed a brand for Australia's generational youth study, mentored youth mental health activists, designed technology with elders in isolation, and more.

Always venturing.

We like blazing new trails. Alongside working with clients and partners, we develop new commercial ideas for good, from our wellbeing tech product Dala Health, to the sweetness that is Dark Joy - ethically sourced and locally roasted coffee for the Museum of Sticks & Stones.