Q&A: Busy Head

I got into illustration while I was studying archaeology and ancient history at uni; we had to draw a lot of artefacts and pots and I really enjoyed it. I’ve always loved museums and after spending five weeks in Europe over Christmas and visiting every art gallery and museum I could manage it was only natural for me to create a range that married my love of earrings with my passion for antiquity.

Unsurprisingly I wear mostly Busy Head earrings. I trial every pair I design before releasing them to make sure they hang correctly, so at some stage or another I’ve worn them all. My go-tos are the snakes, bottle brush and brush turkeys. I have quite a few Concrete Jellyfish dangles that I LOVE wearing and I adore all of my Molly Coombs Marr pieces.

I started Busy Head in 2016 after some prompting by friends and random strangers who really liked the earrings I was making for myself. I had a creative small biz in the past that didn’t really work out to be financially viable, so this time I consciously set up a more sustainable business. I spent months figuring out manufacturing processes and branding before anything went live.

When I started out I was making shrink earrings for my own use by using any type six plastics I had in the recycling; at this stage they were all completely hand drawn. Since starting Busy Head though, I use my original digital illustrations and print them onto polystyrene sheets. They start out two times bigger than the finished size; I then hand-cut and heat-shrink them. They get pressed, sealed and then mounted on stainless steel hardware. Doing it this way means that it’s all in-house and thus I can make to order; it means I don’t produce unnecessarily or wastefully.

Brisbane has such a fantastic community of makers and small business owners. The feeling of camaraderie and support from these people spurs me on to keep creating. I also draw inspiration from our natural surrounds; Australian flora and fauna feature heavily in my designs.

As with any skill, the number of hours I’ve spent drawing has improved my illustrative prowess. I think it makes for a more polished-looking end result. The main ongoing influence is my desire to keep developing the styles. I want to make new and different things to maintain my own interest and the interest of my customers. I’m also constantly tweaking manufacturing processes to make the product more durable and to produce less waste.

I draw a lot of my inspiration from our natural surrounds and, like many other people living in Australia, I am lucky to have a plethora of beautiful native birds visiting my yard. I wanted to create something that people would have an affinity with, but also something that tourists who visit the MoB Shop would enjoy as a keepsake from our lovely little corner of the world.

I’m very lucky to have a home studio so my day wouldn’t generally involve me needing to leave the house. I try to have a routine where I wake up at the same time everyday and start work at the same time. I’ll spend the first part of the day checking emails and making a list of tasks that I need to see to, then just tick those things off. Busy Head is a one-lady show so those tasks involve everything from illustrating and making earrings to managing stockists, accounting, building and maintaining my website, and photographing promotional images. Typically I’ll do all my drawing in bed or on the couch for maximum comfort beside my best four-legged friend. I’m always drawing other people’s pets for custom pet portrait earrings and having my Kelpie Mia there helps keep the creative juices flowing.

I still get so much joy out of seeing people wearing the things that I have created, whether on social media or in the wild. I’m stoked about all the collaborations, events and features I’ve been involved in, but the ongoing thing that makes me proudest is the fact that people like what I’ve made.