Interview: Mel Macklin

Mel Macklin inhabits a magical world.

Tucked away in a studio in Montmorency, this graduate of the visual arts creates a style of dreamy illustrations that wouldn’t look out of place inside the pages of a children’s book – It’s a land full of pastel-hued girls with big hair and even bigger eyes.

Mel Macklin Photograhed by David Heath

The talented artist has been creative since she was a small child and credits her family with encouraging and discovering her talent. “I was very fortunate to know that I was always going to be an artist and no one ever said that I couldn’t, or that I shouldn’t.”
But it was only while she was attending art school that she discovered the work of Mark Ryden and a signature style blossomed.

 Macklin:  “You grow up thinking that you can’t play with dolls forever or that you can’t have your head buried in a book of myths forever, but it was almost like, ‘well this guy is’. He made the impossible seem possible.”

There’s an effervescence to Macklin’s tone that sits perfectly alongside her 'Blyth'-esque illustrations. When she confides that she’s not long since finished tidying her studio, her uplifting lilt is enough to inspire Makers to wish that we could have mucked in and helped clean the workspace, certain that we would only stumble upon hidden treasures, like a grown up Easter egg hunt.

After a childhood spent in Gipsland and teenage years whiled away in the Northern Territory (where the self proclaimed ‘petulant brat’ attended art school), Macklin moved to the U.K and began work as an arts and humanities teacher at an all girl’s school in London. While she may have only recently resettled back into the outskirts of Melbourne, it’s immediately evident that Britain still holds a special place in her heart, “I miss it everyday,” she confides, “I feel like when I left, I left a little part of me behind.” Beatrix Potter country has left its indelible mark on her work.

Salty Tears and Shipwrecks by Mel Macklin

Macklin: “When you grow up reading fairytales full of pine forests, it [Europe] feels like all of your favourite stories are stepping off the page; it was quite magical to me. I feel like it’s not necessarily the country that you’re born in is the one that you have a natural kin-ship with. And I think it can be quite difficult when you have experienced other places, not to feel like Voldemort and his Horcruxes, (laughs) to give you a really bad analogy.”

Macklin speaks in sweeping illustrative terms. Her time abroad is liked to visiting Narnia, her itinerant lifestyle is that of a snail - “I felt like I was carrying around all my worldly possessions on my back, but as long as I had my paints and my pencils I’d be ok.” And when it slips that this creative once toyed with the idea of becoming a children’s book author and illustrator, we’re not left feeling surprised.

After a return to Oz in 2009, Mel and her husband David set up home in the Northern Territory where she began selling her wares at a local market. Although the tightly knit creative community in Darwin warmly welcomed her return, it wasn’t long before the couple decided it was time to set up a more permanent base in Victoria.

Mel has settled easily into Melbourne life and for the moment her days are spent sketching - With work sold in various markets around the city, walking her dogs and building up her Etsy store. There was a recent collaboration with local lipstick brand Shanghai Suzy and many other fantastical endeavors in the pipeline.

 Macklin: “I was 17 when I started art school and had a really set idea of what art should be. It was all a very idealistic way of thinking; I was inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites and all of those very romantic painters and didn’t really pay a whole lot of attention to the practical side of stuff. I wish I did but I was probably quite young and it was hard for me to grasp the idea of, ‘in order to do this you need to grow up and practice the fundamentals of things'."

With her childlike imagination and beautiful illustrations, Makers hopes that Mel Macklin never really “grows up.”

Of Fir Trees and Little Queens by Mel Macklin

Interview: Joanna Wheaton

It was a passion for makeup and a history in product marketing for some of Australia’s largest cosmetics brands that lead Joanna Wheaton to launch Shanghai Suzy lipstick in August last year.

Like a majority of women, the former model turned entrepreneur was tired of paying copious amounts of money for lip products that she would wear a few times before moving on to explore the next beauty trend or formula. Joanna felt that there was a gap in the market for affordable, on-trend lip colours that delivered in terms of pigment, formula and packaging, and so, after several years of careful planning, her Melbourne based company was born.

Joanna: “I love lipstick of course and was always searching high and low for the perfect seasonal shades. I was spending $30 or more on lipsticks that I would never ever finish.  With that insight I thought that it would be great if there was a brand that would release a ‘wardrobe’ of the ‘in’ colours each season at a reasonable price point. That way I could buy them all, and my lips would be sorted for the season.”

A self confessed social media addict, Wheaton’s range of limited run lipsticks are influenced by current fashion collections, bloggers and makeup artists. With the brand still in its infant stages (Shanghai Suzy’s third season launched in September 2014), the niche makeup company, which takes its moniker from a childhood friend, has already built up a cult like following.  Shanghai Suzy is currently stocked in over 300 boutiques and salons across Australia, but despite the small businesses’ rapid expansion Wheaton proudly states that her initial philosophy remains steadfastly the same.

Joanna: “The initial ethos was to create salon quality lipsticks with fashion forward colours at a pharmacy price point. They had a few bells and whistles too of course, they’re grape bubblegum fragranced, beautifully packaged, they’re cruelty-free. I’m really proud that we’re delivering a product that was lacking in the market before.”

Creating seasonal collections has given the marketing maestro the opportunity to collaborate with local creatives. A ‘Gossling’ shade, inspired by performer Helen Croome, made up part of the autumn/winter 2014 collection and the current spring/summer season features illustrations by Gipsland born artist Mel Macklin, whose fantastical drawings are the perfect accompaniment to Wheaton’s aesthetic. “It was a perfect storm really,” says Macklin, after the artist met the burgeoning lipstick queen at The Rose Street Artist Markets. “It’s quite wonderful and rare to meet someone with such a strong vision. She really knows what she wants and she’s really good at verbalizing quite specifically what she thinks Shanghai Suzy should be.”

With plans to expand into New Zealand and the competitive American market next year, as well as developing a range of lip balms and exfoliators, the future looks candy hued for Suzy’s blonde powerhouse.

As for her upcoming new season of shades, Wheaton suggests that the current 90’s influence will continue, with  dark bold shimmery lips worn during the day.  She lovingly refers to the trend as ‘Gothic Chic’ and tells Makers that the movement toward “dark forest green lips, as well as grey, black and gold lips” is sure to continue into the winter.

Joanna: “We have many customers that buy the whole range each season and look forward to buying the range as soon as it’s released.  Many people are scared of colour or to try certain colours even though they are drawn to them - I say give it a go and experiment! Makeup to me is all about having fun. I think that’s the most important thing.”