Were you creative as a child?
Yes, I think so! I obviously wasn’t conscious of it, but looking back I’d always make friends draw, craft or paint when they came over for visits. I based everything on colours and would spend weekends on the farm sewing or doing watercolour paintings outside.

You left a course in fashion and textile design to jump headfirst into the industry as a professional artist – was that a scary decision to make? How did your peers and parents respond?
Looking back, I remember it being incredibly scary. It took me five weeks to consider the decision, with not a lot of support from friends and family. But after a while, they started to see I wasn’t just going to sit in my bedroom and scribble on scrap paper, and now I have the most supportive network a creative could ask for.

Congratulations on the release of your swimwear label. What’s the response been like so far?
The response has been fantastic! So much support and advice has been offered.

Your swimwear designs reference the work of artist Ernst Haeckel. What can you tell us about this luminary?
His lithographs are just incredible – not to mention they’re in the public domain. He just had such a beautiful way of making something so scientific and exact into something so precise and amazing. The lithographs themselves are so clinical in their structure, and yet have an organic flow to them, which makes them alluring.

You’ve embellished the new swim pieces with your own art prints – can you talk us through the creative process?
It all comes pretty easily. It only took me a week or two to design the prints and swimwear, and then a whole year to set the actual business and production side of things up. I usually just go with what feels natural, which is alway my immediate surroundings. The more I looked into Australian florals, the more I wanted to give a positive and current interpretation of ‘Australiana’.

What was your biggest challenge in getting the business off the ground?
Funding the label entirely from my artwork. Working to build another business can be all-consuming.

What about the greatest reward?
Highlights have been Perth Fashion Festival, my launch at ACO Cottesloe and seeing the bathers pop up on Instagram from random girls!

You’re also a successful artist. Where would you most like to see one of your artworks hung?
I’m not phased about where they go as much as if people just love them! I often think about people sitting in their homes, occasionally glancing at their piece and thinking, “I’m so glad I bought that!”

Where do you find creative inspiration?
Various sources … My immediate surrounds, my internal moods and feelings, my Instagram feed, magazines – everywhere! I usually get things flowing by sourcing images from blogs, Instagram and Tumblr, and working out what it is I like about them, then researching that feeling or topic. I try to make it all-consuming.

Can you share any advice for those trying to develop their creative pursuits into a professional career?
If you try really hard, make lots of sacrifices and be smart with your money, you’ll be fine! Never underestimate tracking your cash flow, the importance of marketing and staying true to your own creative practice.

What makes you the happiest?
When someone writes me an email saying their painting has arrived and they’re completely in love with it! It’s the best feeling and makes all the other average emails float away.

Talk us through your idea of the perfect weekend …
Heading to the morning markets for breakfast and coffee, taking my kelpie puppy Augie for a run around, catching up with girlfriends, beaching and making delicious slow-cooked dinners. Things that are very quiet and calming make me happy. Not answering emails would be ideal!

What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt as you’ve become an adult?
That men and women are so completely different. Not in a bad or good way, just that we’re built so differently!

What’s your life motto?
Do what you love, but be smart about it. Know what’s working and what’s not. Have the courage to leave things not meant for you.

What’s your personal definition of success?
Being able to live comfortably off my own creations.

FAVOURITE WEEKEND SPOT TO:
Perk up … the ocean.
Dine …  at home or at a girlfriend’s house with red wine.
Indulge … salted caramel doughnuts from Mary Street Bakery, Perth.
Shop … ACO Cottesloe, Perth.
Be inspired … any place that has had new ideas freshly put into it.