Stephanie Donald has a background in art, design, and film. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film from the University of Canterbury in 1991 and began her career as a film editor in Auckland. Alongside her film work, she started making cast sterling silver jewellery, which soon evolved into a professional design practice.

In 1997, Donald established her design company, exporting jewellery to international clients including Barneys New York, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris and Sydney, Space Design Store in London, and Idee in Tokyo. Eager to expand her material expertise, she went on to study ceramics and furniture at Unitec, graduating with honours in Three Dimensional Design in 2002.

Through her studio, Hybrid Design Ltd, Donald has produced collections of furniture, lighting, and jewellery. For Makers Market, she presents the M6 plywood series: a flat-pack, wall-hung range designed to be transportable, relocatable, and easy to assemble. Exhibited for the first time, these works mark her return to design after time spent as a mother and full-time carer.

Donald is also developing new lighting and furniture pieces as part of an ongoing design/build project, extending her practice into fresh directions.