Inside the dopamine inducing home and studio of Point Lonsdale artist, Amy Gibbs

This week on the Home Life Series, get ready to meet the extremely talented and beautiful Point Lonsdale artist and mum, Amy Gibbs. 

Having kicked off her journey as a graphic designer, Amy's path veered into the exhilarating world of freelancing, where she clinched the Kip&Co Art Series competition back in 2020. Since then, her artistic career has been nothing short of a whirlwind adventure. From starting her own business, raising a family AND selling out artworks in minutes, there’s nothing she can’t do! 

Amy credits the abundance of spare time during the Covid lockdowns for the transformative journey she finds herself on today—a silver lining in the midst of challenging times! Step inside Amy’s home where you’ll find the perfect mix of dopamine décor, radiant colour and beautiful artwork, all of which are the perfect reflection of her colourful personality.

Hi Amy! We’ve been long time lovers of your work and can’t wait to show the Kip community your gorgeous home. For those who haven’t heard, can you please introduce yourself and who lives here with you? 

Oh that is such a huge compliment coming from you guys (long time Kip&Co fangirl over here!) 

I’m Amy, a 27 year-old Artist and Designer based in the sleepy but picturesque coastal town of Point Lonsdale, Victoria. I’m a mum, wife and lover of all things colour and style. My husband Jake, daughter Tallulah (14 months) and two dogs, Bowie (Golden Retriever) and Alfie (Jack Russell Terrier) make up our family unit. Our household can be a little bit chaotic at times with a toddler, two dogs and a home studio, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

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From winning the Kip&Co Art Series competition in 2020, to now collaborating with brands like Australia Post, The Somewhere Co and Paperpak, you really are thriving! Can you give us a quick trip down memory lane as to how you got to this point? 

Ahh, I honestly think my career and where I am today is a classic case of ‘trust the universe.’ I am a Textile & Graphic Designer by trade and was working in the fashion industry prior to being self-employed. When the whole world basically shut down in 2020 as a result of COVID, I, like many others, found myself with a lot more spare time on my hands. I was lucky to still have my job and the ability to work from home, but I was itching for an outlet to take up in my spare time. I decided to buy a cheap canvas and some paints and create my first artwork since my early uni days (2015), and the rest is history! 

For 2 years, I juggled working full-time in fashion, then 4 days a week in admin, whilst also running my art and design business. In 2022, I finally decided (with a lot of incredible support from my husband, family and friends) to take the leap into self-employment, and really give my business a red-hot go. I honestly haven’t looked back!! I often find myself saying how ‘lucky’ I am that I ended up here, which is partially true, but I also know that I work extremely hard. I put in countless hours, day and night, juggling mum life and everything in between. One of the mantras I live by is “do it with passion or don’t do it at all.”

Your artwork is heavily inspired by Australian native florals, fresh fruits and the beautiful outdoors. How did these elements come to form the basis of many works and why are they important to you? 

I am so lucky to live in such a gorgeous pocket of the country, especially when it comes to nature and its flora. I’m always noticing new flowers or plants on our walks, stopping to take countless photos (which is probably super annoying for the person I’m walking with!) I’ve always taken a big liking to native flowers; I love that they can exist in extremely tough conditions but still grow to be so beautiful - bit of a metaphor for life sometimes I guess?! I’m also constantly inspired by so many things around me; fruits at the market, patterns in clothing, colours in the sunset - everything is inspiration if you just change your outlook!

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Your home is the perfect reflection of your radiant personality, brimming with joyful decor, radiant colour and of course, beautiful artwork! How would you describe your interior aesthetic and where do you source your inspiration from? 

I’m definitely a maximalist; dopamine styling all the way. In the words of the wonderful Jumbled Store, “more is more, less is a bore!” I don’t buy things because they are ‘on trend’, I buy things because I like them and they make me feel happy. I want my home to be warm, inviting and fun - a reflection of our family. I think the more pieces (homewares, art, furnishings, etc.) you collect over time, you naturally start to develop a style and colour palette anyway. I would say my aesthetic is colourful eclectic?? But really, I probably pull elements from a lot of different styles to create my own! I love getting inspiration from Instagram creators, Pinterest and home blogs such as The Design Files (and you guys!). My dream home vision board grows bigger by the day!

You’ve got the ultimate studio setup right in your very own backyard! Can you take our readers through a typical day in the life of an artist?

I am so grateful for my little backyard studio! The more our garden continues to grow, the more inspired I feel being nestled in there. 

No two days are the same when it comes to work, however a ‘typical’ day looks a little something like this: wake up at 6am and go to the gym (this is unless we’ve had a bad night with our daughter and I decide to snooze that alarm - parents, IYKYK), come home and help get Tallulah ready for childcare/her grandparents’ house and then my husband or myself drop her off. I’m very lucky to have a partner that is happy to share the load of parenting; there’s no patriarchal standards of “the mother having to do it all.” We both work full-time hours, so we both do everything we can to make sure life runs as smoothly as possible! Once I’m back home it’s coffee, coffee, coffee (thank goodness for home machines) and smack bang into admin. People honestly underestimate how much admin is involved in running a business; they think I paint all day, which would be the dream, but is definitely not the reality! I try to smash out all my computer tasks in the AM so I can spend the PM painting. The difficult thing about creativity and feeling inspired is you can’t just turn it on and off like a light switch. It’s a feeling, and sometimes, you just aren’t feeling it. These days, rather than fighting it, I’ve learnt to accept those feelings and pivot. Some days are all on the computer doing tasks, some days running errands in the car, and some days are all on the canvas - this is the blessing and the curse of self-employment, but lately I’ve been trying to have a ‘glass half full’ mentality and be grateful for the flexibility my career entails.

We're dying to know, are there any new and exciting projects in the pipeline? 

I’m sure everyone says this at the beginning of a new year, but I’m so excited for 2024 - I’m hoping it’s going to be my best year yet! I’ve got a number of different artwork collaborations in the works, content creation brand partnerships, and in the second half of the year, I’ll start creating a body of work for my solo exhibition at the amazing Lon Retreat in early 2025. I’ve also been working on a lot of new product offerings for my online store. I’m launching ‘The Poster Place’ soon, a category on my website where you can purchase on-trend, stylish and affordable poster prints for your space; I’m getting closer and closer to launching my art tea-towels (which will hopefully turn into a full napery range in the future if successful); and also puzzles! 

My brain currently has 463 tabs open, but I just keep chipping away at everything and the satisfaction of seeing my ideas and creations come to fruition makes it all worth it.