Ella Thrupp X Brie Leon
We’re thrilled to collaborate with Ella Thrupp, an incredibly talented artist known for creating dreamlike spaces in an increasingly digital world. Ella is transforming our Brie Leon store window into a stunning work of art, blending light, texture, and ephemeral beauty to bring a fresh, creative energy to our brand.
See the interview below...
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work?
I’m Ella, I’m a practicing artist based in Sydney and Byron. I’ve been working in a number of different mediums and styles, but my work routinely circulates around the ephemeral, the mystical and the inaccessible. I’m always looking to create dreamlike lands of escape.
How has your personal style - both in art and fashion - evolved over time?
I think my personal style is always in flux. It’s so reflective of how I feel personally at any given time. Often what I wear is linked into how secure I’m feeling – sometimes you want to protect yourself so you cover up a bit more. I love coats and clothes I can hide in sometimes. And other times I feel like I want to tell a story with what I wear. Sometimes I have little hidden narratives in my outfits.
My art style is the same in way – always changing, always moving. I think I’ve been looking for, and chasing, this style that will answer a creative satisfaction in me. I feel like my work is taking me on this journey looking for something; a particular feeling, a particular style. I have a feeling this journey will be never ending.
Your work often feels deeply connected to nature and emotion. How would you describe your aesthetic in a few words?
In a few words - escape, magical, moody.
Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you transition from an idea to a finished piece?
My process can go two ways. Depending on my mood, I can be quite diligent with my planning. I’ll do composition sketches, colour planning. Other times I just roll out a big piece of linen and get to work. Funnily my most popular works are the ones that have just unfolded as I create without any set plan.
What are the rituals or habits that help you find focus in your practice?
There’s a few things. Instrumental and background music is always really important for when I paint. I’ve been working hard to honour creating with giving it my full focus. In the past I’ve always had shows on or podcasts on. These days I’m trying to split my focus less.
A clean studio is also so important. Sometimes if I’m feeling stuck or frustrated, a clean usually sets me right again.
What, who, or where is inspiring you right now? Are there any unexpected influences shaping your work?
I’ve never not been obsessed with Rae Klein, an American artist based in Los Angeles. I have one of her prints in my apartment and I’ve looked at it every day for years trying to figure it out.
Otherwise I keep coming back to the same themes for inspiration. T.S Eliot’s poems really help evoke these feelings of the strange, solemn, and mystical. He’s great to listen to to put me in the right mood for creating.
We are really excited to be collaborating with you for our first Artist Residency, in-store March 2025. What was your vision for the piece, and how did you approach designing it?
I’m excited too! I didn’t just want to create a standard mural – I wanted to push the design to elevate it further with really beautiful and thoughtful creative decisions. I wanted to pull from the elements in my paintings and balance them with the shapes and feelings in Brie Leon’s AW collection. In my sketch book I just started drawing these shapes over and over until I found ones I liked. I then, kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, fit them all together in the final design.
In a world where digital presence is crucial, how do you maintain authenticity in your online presence?
I feel like I’m perpetually wrestling with this question. In total honesty if I could run a creative career as an artist without Instagram, I’d do it without a second thought. You’re always tempted with reel trends and ‘going viral’ but I think it's more important to rely on what you have to offer personally. People follow you for a reason, and they love what you create for a reason, so I think you need to remember that and put work out that feels aligned with you. Putting work and content out that’s not ‘you’ never feels right. I’m always having conversations with myself that it's more important to be myself than to go ‘viral’. Because that’s never what creating was ever about. Art and creativity is so much more eternal than a temporary social media platform.
How do you quiet your mind and find calm in the chaos of a creative career?
I’m always struggling with this. I don’t know that I’m very good at it, to be honest. I think much of how I look after my mind is how I look after my body – I try to eat really well, exercise and spend time with my friends. Being an artist can be a really lonely experience, so it's important for me to disrupt that and keep a variety of life experiences, rather than just being in the studio day after day.
You’re also a surfer - what’s the most surprising or valuable lesson that part of your life has given you as an artist?
I always say that to surf well, you first have to commit to surfing badly for a really long time. It’s the same with art. You have to commit and honour that to create wonderful work is to show up and create probably more bad work than good work. One thing I’ve really tried to make space for is allowing this work to be bad. We see so much amazing creativity on social media that it’s easy to wonder why you’re not putting out award winning work every time you pick up a brush. It’s been refreshing to be reminded that everyone else is probably creating as much bad work as you.
When it comes to curating a space - whether it’s a studio, a home, or a retail environment - what elements do you consider essential?
Soupy lamp light, plants, incense, and great art.
Ella wears Everyday Croissant Mini Bag in Chocolate
See the Artwork IRL at our Surry Hills Flagship store till 16th April 2025
Special thanks to Ella Thrupp
