Our Story

On the 27th February 1999, Joshua Kendall New died by suicide.

He had attempted to take his life one week prior and his injuries were so extensive that the decision was made to turn off his life support.

Joshua was my brother.

His catastrophic exit from my life changed me at my core. The world was no longer a safe place but had shapeshifted into a cold reality that the people you love most, can leave without warning.

Joshua was an artist. In 1996, he won The Minister's Award for Art in Education, Queensland for his etching The Ark, which was displayed in the Queensland Art Gallery. He had immense talent and a future full of possibility that was never fully realised. His art portfolio is one of the few things we have left of his.

Toecutter Industries was created in the aftermath of Joshua’s death. I had an idea that I wanted to share Joshua’s memory with the world but didn’t yet know how.

Toecutter was Joshua’s nickname – inspired by the Mad Max character.

This has been a long, painful process. Being torn between so desperately wanting his artwork in the world, for his memory to live on, but also fighting back the demons of grief that grow whenever my attention is turned to this project.

My purest goal for Toecutter Industries is just to share his art with you, in the hopes that you will love it as much as I do, and that a piece of him continues to live on in the hearts of whoever choose to embrace his art.

I also recognize that too many of us have lost loved ones to suicide and through this project, I would like to shine a light on their memory but also donate a portion of proceeds to the incredible people fighting the rising tide of this epidemic.

My heart seeks to connect with others who have walked this dark path of being the ones left behind. It is agony like no other. The unanswered questions, the ‘what-ifs’ and the marks it leaves on everyone who must bear its weight.

I would be honoured if you would choose to take a piece of his art home with you.