Salisbury & Maude

Growing up, I always had a pencil or brush in hand. I could knit before I could read. Becoming an artist wasn’t a choice. What I do is who I am. That means now—after a long career as a residential, commercial and retail interior designer whose Sydney home starred in a 10-page House & Garden feature —I do what I love every day. I’m the multi creative founder, art director and principal artist of Salisbury & Maude. I’m an artistic thought leader and guest speaker who has studied metalwork, woodwork, printmaking, ceramics, graphic design and textiles. I’m an artist of repute who handmakes one-off treasures from Australian merino wool, fabrics and faux botanicals. I don’t take commissions, I make just one thing at a time. My pieces are collected by global influencers and lifestyle TV hosts and featured in national magazines. Being coveted is a lovely thing, eight years after I closed my homewares store and design studio and started making quilts. My ability to create by my own hand means even more as I nearly lost it at age 22 in an accident that left me with disability but gave resilience. I love: classic style, flat shoes, orchestral music, my husband and adult children, moving through life with integrity and exemplary service (a superpower from my years in Corporate Services at David Jones, shopping for major corporate clients, the rich and famous). Yes, I can still design you a house. But I’d rather make a smaller, more personal work of art you can treasure forever.