BLUNT + Kelly Thompson | Limited Edition Collaboration
We have so ‘mushroom’ in our hearts for our latest collab with Melbourne-based Kiwi Kelly Thompson! We caught up with Kelly to chat about collaborating with BLUNT on two stunning designs for the new season.
What does a typical day in the life of Kelly look like?
It’s looking pretty varied at the moment as I now have an online store www.makersmrkt.com which really took off during lockdown. I start my day with breakfast and a dog walk before doing what I call “An hour of power” an uninterrupted hour of emails only, I think it needs to be more hours though as I never get on top of them! Then I usually pack Makers’ Mrkt orders for the courier, hopefully having that all done before the afternoon. My afternoon consists of either buying for the store, shooting and styling content, marketing planning, or focused on collaboration clients, illustration, or content creation. I’m lucky to now have a staff member for two days a week so she’s taking over the marketing so I can focus more on creative again. I always try and take a pilates class each weeknight to try and balance out the desk time.
How do you choose which brands to collab with?
First and foremost, I always have to respect the brand, their manufacturing and general business ethos, you’ll never see me collaborating with fast fashion brands. Secondly, I really enjoy collaborating with brands that will take my work and ideas from paper to product, there is nothing more exciting than seeing a sketch become a touchable usable 3D item! I also only collaborate with brands who want to collaborate with me for me, brands that respect my thoughts and ideas and are not trying to make me imitate someone else’s work. There is nothing worse than a client who edits my work so much that it’s not even mine anymore, it needs to be a collaborative and mutually beneficial partnership always.
What is the inspiration behind the design?
During lockdown in Melbourne in 2020, I was lucky enough to have a farmer’s market within my 5km radius (we were only allowed to travel within 5km of home). The market became my one and only permitted adventure during the week, so I spent as much time as possible there on Sundays. Every week there was a man selling some of the most amazing mushrooms I’ve ever seen, giant pink ones, weird wrinkly ones and fungi of all colours and descriptions, I would come home every week with a new variety to try (and also just look at!). At the same time, I’d just planted a flower garden to attract insects to my garden, so when it came to sketching these two things became my biggest inspiration, some could say I was mildly mushroom obsessed for a while!
What has been your favourite part about collaborating with BLUNT?
The Blunt team are all really nice friendly people! A good team makes all the difference, they’re very positive and encouraging and just a pleasure to deal with!
How would you describe your style?
My illustration style is organic, feminine and delicate.
My personal style is playful, colourful and confident.
What are three things you can’t live without?
Mascara, creating, tomatoes.
Do you have any advice for creatives looking to turn their passion into a career?
I think my main one would be to stop waiting for the perfect moment, that and get a good accountant from the start!
