For Australian Artist Nick Leary, creating is a way of life.  

After discovering photography at a young age, designing and creating became his passion.   

Now, with over 20 years of experience producing fine art, photography, and film visuals, it's safe to say that creating and storytelling is part of who Nick is.  

The chance to conceptualise and capture the story of the Something Worth Keeping campaign was an opportunity close to Nick’s heart.   

“The Australian story for me is what I do. It’s my life’s work. It’s what moves me. A lot of the series of my personal works have ended up in that space.”  

Here Nick shares his creative process and journey from inspiration to delivery of this special KING story.   

Finding inspiration

Inspiration is all around us. For Nick, finding the core inspiration of the story was all about starting with detailed considerations and then letting the moments unfold.  

“The process is quite amazing. It starts detailed and very considered. The team does a lot of research and development, and from there you storyboard the process. It gets to a point where it's so big you just let those moments unfold.”   

Inspiration is often a mixture of personal experiences, people, places, and objects you connect with. 

“There’s so many stages of inspiration. In the beginning, it was really about the Australian story, those personal family moments that people can connect to. Many of those moments came from personal experiences with my own family.”

At its core, the story is all about experiencing the moments of daily family life.

Authentic family moments

Exploring genuine moments of honesty and authentic family moments was important to Nick, which is why the family he cast in Something Worth Keeping is a real family.   

“When we put out casting across Australia, we were looking for that connection of real family," Nick explains. “We wanted to capture the authentic moments where you see the whole family living and working together”.  

The film showcases many universal moments that feel familiar. In an age of smartphones, capturing the puppet show scene was a special time on set for Nick.  

“The puppet show was a magic moment for me that drew on memories from my childhood. The family were happy and relaxed, and watching the little boy and seeing something special in his eyes, I really connected with that.” 

Something Worth Keeping was shot on location in Tasmania.

An Australian setting

At its heart, the story of Something Worth Keeping is about the Australian way of life, which means the setting would play a significant role.   

Grounded by the rhythms of nature and the ever-changing light and landscapes, the film was shot on location in Tasmania.  

“The location was amazing. It was 20 minutes outside of Hobart and had magnificent views over Frederick Henry’s Bay, or Storm Bay as the locals call it. It was this gorgeous Australian setting, and that was one of the things I was looking for," Nick shares.  

“It was so beautiful. It was very Australian. We had these rolling hills with blonde grass that met the ocean and this rugged coastline. It was stunning each and every day. It was like a different light show.”   

Pictured above is the Heritage Dining Table and Heirloom Dining Chair. Coming in 2023.

Uncovering the KING ethos

While Nick had previously worked with the KING team, it was a process of discovery to capture the legacy brand's true feeling and heart.  

“When you are working with a brand like KING that’s been around for five decades, you have to forget everything you have seen. Next, you enter a process of discovery and figure out why and what you are trying to uncover. Then you need to be brave and true to yourself to deliver in your own way as an artist.”  

Simplicity is the ethos of the KING brand, and Nick seamlessly brought this feeling into the narrative through music.   

“By luck, I discovered a ukulele sound and felt it sounded somewhat informal and jovial, almost like Australian nature,” Nick shares.  

“I found an artist who played some really simple ukulele chords. It doesn’t take away from the vision, and it really goes through the journey and process of each day. It’s this circle of life.” 

A special moment captured. Featuring the Heritage Dining Table and Heirloom Dining Chair, coming in 2023.

Bringing KING products to life

Knowing how KING products are designed to function is key for Nick, but it’s the emotion that truly tells the story.   

“Capturing the moment where we were looking across the landscape with the mum with her child in arms across the Heritage Table was a beautiful moment. It was really about the stillness of the morning, getting ready to take on the life of a new day, kids, breakfast time, everything that happens in our day.”  

A much-loved design since its inception over 20 years ago, the Jasper Sofa was always going to play a part in a KING brand story. The modular design was a hero in the puppet show scene.   

“Jasper allows you to live in your world, and it adapts to your world. Things make your life either harder or simpler, and Jasper makes it easier to function because you can do so many things. You can remove a pillow, reconfigure and create a new setting. The puppet show was a great example of bringing that to life.”  

With Nick’s creative lead, KING products were brought to life in beautiful moments all in an Australian location, capturing the essence of the heritage Australian brand. 

To discover more, explore behind the scenes of filming Something Worth Keeping or read Founder David King’s perspective on the campaign.  

Follow the #SomethingWorthKeeping story on Instagram.