Designing patterns inspired by the spirit of nature
Millie Jay Studio is a new Australian wallpaper, textile and surface design business. Born out of a need to fulfill a creative yearning, Millie Jay Studio seek to bring the passions of interiors, design, homewares, nature and art together.
It is the hope of Millie Jay Studio to create patterns that hold the energy and spirit of the land and its people. A reminder that we are all connected and to bring a little bit of Mother Nature into our homes and spaces.
Meet the maker
Hi there, I’m Jen, the face and designer behind Millie Jay Studio. I am a mother, artist, surface designer, homebody, lover of green hills, trees and nature. I love big belly laughs with friends over coffee and am an-all round creative soul.
I’m currently based in the small artsy town of Maleny in the beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland.
I have a passion for unique handcrafted homewares, wallpapers, natural organic textiles and products.
My aim is to bring my love for nature’s colours, patterns and organic fabrics together with my Papua New Guinean and Australian heritage and perspective to create warm, beautiful, organic and homey interiors. Millie Jay Studio is my way of shining my light into the world, doing what I love and empowering others to do the same.
It is my hope to be part of the creatives making the world a better and more beautiful place with kindness and love to the planet and each other.
My Story
Where do I start… I was born in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea to an Australian father and Papua New Guinean mother (proudly from Kambot in the East Sepik Province). We moved to Australia when I was 5 years old and it has been my home ever since. Each of my parent’s culture has shaped me and inspired me. Travelling to Papua New Guinea and to rural Victoria visiting family was a large part of my childhood and many of my patterns take inspiration from those memories.
I’ve always been a creative soul and it feels like all my life I have been slowly making my way back to that creative self. For years I denied my true self and followed a practical path of a structural engineer, where the stepping stones were clear and predictable. But it appears my creative soul could not be denied any longer and lucky for me the universe heard my plea and put me on the path of learning surface pattern design.
This is a new journey for me and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be able to travel this path. I hope to use this platform not only as a way to connect people with the land I walk on and come from, but also introduce to the world some patterns inspired by traditional art from my Mother’s homeplace Kambot and Angoram.
These villages are located on the large river systems of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, home to the puk puks ( crocodiles) and my family.
The Process
Millie Jays patterns usually start by walks in nature either in national parks, outings at the beach, or even the humble backyard gardens. Inspiration may come from flowers, bugs or seed pods found on the forest floor, organic shapes and colour palettes found in nature.
Using this inspiration, designs are either hand drawn ‘old school’ with pen and paper, painted or created digitally and then taken into Adobe Illustrated to form patterns.
Patterns are usually organic in style whether with realistic details or abstract shapes. I try not to limit my style as I always love experimenting and growing.