INTERVIEW | ARTIST & MAMA FLEUR HARRIS
Image is by @NatalieDaviesPhotography
BY JESSICA BOSCO
Fleur Harris’ Insta bio reads “creator of whimsical things”. And that’s literally what she does. Like many of us, Fleur grew up dreaming of far-away adventures and magical creatures, from pirate ships and treasure maps to dinosaurs and rocket ships. But whilst most of us are forced to leave those adventures in our past, her flair for creativity and her incredible ability with a paintbrush helped her transform her passion into a hugely successful career. She takes the stuff of childhood fantasies and turns them into reality for the next generation of dreamers.
Having just launched her seventh collection in partnership with Adairs Kids, aptly named ‘Adventureland’, we chatted to Fleur about the gorgeous collection that is already popping up in bedrooms all over Insta.
We also chatted to Fleur about being a mum (to adorable son Baillieux) and juggling a career - oh and not to mention Covid-19 - as well as how to retain a sense of self when there are so many balls in the air.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do?
I’m an artist, Mum and creative collaborator. I work from my home studio in Flemington, Melbourne, Australia.
And you’ve recently released your latest collection with Adair’s, can you tell us a little bit about that?
‘Adventureland’ is the seventh collection I’ve worked on in collaboration with Adairs Kids. It’s inspired by the magic of childhood and the way children delight in learning about the wonders of the world. The artwork I created for it is highly detailed and took months to create. The collection with Adairs Kids includes 12 beautiful pieces, from bedding to cushions, storage, a teepee and even a flip-out sofa!
It’s available in all Adairs Kids stores, selected Adairs stores and online at adairs.com.au. Some styles sold out really quickly but in good news for anyone that missed out, there’ll be a restock in October, yay!
What was your inspiration? How do you come up with the concepts and designs?
My imagination is always on, ideas keep ticking over, and then occasionally one stands out and grabs me and usually, it’ll live in my head for a while. It’ll stay there – sort of hovering over everything else I’m thinking and doing. It’ll evolve and change and I’ll imagine it a hundred different ways and then I might have a lightbulb moment where I visualise exactly how it’s meant to be or at least a place to start, and I begin sketching and start bringing it to life. My process is always a bit different with each idea though as I just go with the flow, some ideas come quickly and others take longer to find their feet. The materials I use also change depending on what I feel like doing or what will suit the idea better.
For the ‘Adventureland’ collection I was inspired by my childhood days spent playing make-believe games, and I spoke with lots of children of all ages about what their favourite things were. I imagined a fantastical land that celebrated these wondrous things that children love - and combined them all into one big artwork series.
Do you have a favourite piece/design?
The original ‘Woodlands’ artwork is very special to me. I started it when I was pregnant while I was reflecting a lot on my own childhood, I drew it just creating from my heart and without knowing what it would become. It’s an artwork that is now much loved around the world which is very humbling. A more recent piece that I love is the wall artwork from the ‘Adventureland’ collection. It’s big and beautifully presented and there is so much colour and detail to look at, but it’s somehow still very gentle. It sold out very quickly after it was released so it was beautiful to learn how much other people loved it too.
Where does your passion for illustration and design come from?
I don’t know where my passion for creating comes from but it is a forever-burning fire that has been in me my whole life. It sometimes is roaring and sometimes it’s simmering coals that need stoking. Whatever state it’s in, I am grateful for it because it has made me who I am today.
You are a mum to son Baillieux; can you tell us a little bit about your motherhood journey?
I had always been adamant that I didn’t want to get married and I didn’t want to have children. I’m the eldest of four and I took on a very nurturing, loving approach to being a big sister, I loved having all these little people to care about. Especially in the case of my little sister who was born when I was seven. When she arrived it was like having my own baby, I just adored her and loved on her so much. But through my twenties and thirties, I never felt ‘clucky’ or any kind of desire to start a family, even when my friends started having kids. I also saw parenthood as a HUGE responsibility – so much so that I was kind of terrified of it. I was also very passionate about my work as an artist, I’d created a career that I loved after a lot of hard work, and I knew deep down that would have to change if a baby came along. But I also wanted the experience of raising a child, of creating a wonderful world for them, navigating the good and bad parts of life together.
So I gave parenthood (and getting married!) A LOT of thought, maybe too much, I’d stress myself out about both of those things. My whole pregnancy, deep down I still worried if I’d made the right decision, I was still doubting if I’d be good at being a Mum. I’d see Mums with babies and they looked like they knew exactly what they were doing and I’d realise how I had no idea how to do simple baby things like swaddle them or change a nappy.
Except for restless legs that kept me awake most of the night for the last six months of my pregnancy, physically my pregnancy was relatively easy. It wasn’t until my tummy got really big that I realised the baby had to come OUT, and I just couldn’t picture how this human baby was going to actually get out of me. I ran out of a birthing class and burst into tears in the toilets. I was TERRIFIED of giving birth. I couldn’t bring myself to go back to the class to watch the outdated awkward video they were playing and read flyers about how to give birth. I just had to get the hell out of there.
Thankfully I had a great obstetrician who helped me a lot. So my journey into motherhood was dotted with anxiety, over-thinking, fear and in the case of the birthing class, panic. But once he arrived, and ever since that moment, I’ve been a surprisingly very relaxed and capable parent. And I love it. And I’m good at it. Who’d have thought!
How did you find the shift to the role of ‘mum’?
I remember walking out my front door to the hospital and thinking, ‘I will never leave this house again as this version of myself’. I didn’t realise how true that was going to be. Eight hours later in the blink of an eye that chapter of my life was over and a whole new, completely different one had started. I can’t remember much of that early transition time because I hadn’t slept for six months before I had our son, and we didn’t get into a sleep school until he was eight months old – so for 14 months, I had not had one single full night’s sleep. I don’t know how I functioned in the way that I did. I guess adrenalin kicks in and you just keep going. After my son and I spent five amazing life-changing nights at the Mesada Sleep School, we shifted from tackling each day moment by moment, to having better focus and structure across the board. We were all getting some proper sleep and got a good grip on the sails of our new little family ship.
How do you manage to make your mum life and working life mesh?
Because I work for myself, I was working right up until a week before Bails was born, and I started doing a few hours and meetings here and there about a month after he was born. I prioritised him all the time, but if a window opened up where I could work, I’d take it. I remember having meetings at my house while I’d be breastfeeding him on the couch, or he’d be asleep next to me while I worked at my desk. I’d work on photo shoots with him strapped to me in the carrier. I loved being able to have him with me while I worked.
I soon realised that for me to be the best Mum possible, I needed to feel happy within myself, and for me, a lot of my happiness comes from my work and my creativity. Tending to that part of my life is just as important now as it was when he was little. I think having my own personal sense of purpose and being able to fulfill it, is a big contributor to me being the best Mum I can be.
Has being a mum changed your approach to your career and business?
I work from home so when my son (who is 4 now) gets home from kinder around 3.45 I want to be able to play with him as soon as I can, so I’m a lot more particular about how much and what sort of work I take on. I have always been very organised and that has stepped up a gear or two. We are a great team, our little family. My husband and I are good at stepping up on the domestic front when the other one needs to focus on work more. There’s isn’t a gender stereotype within a 100-mile radius of our home, we both just do whatever needs to be done to make it all work. I weigh up the pros and cons of each project looking through many lenses, the main one being family. I’m fortunate in working for myself that I get to decide where the line is drawn with how much work I take on to maximise my time with our son and together as a family.
What do you struggle with the most being a working mum?
I used to travel overseas a bit for work and for inspiration, but I’ve laid off that since Bails was born. I miss it a lot. Now he’s older I feel ok about travelling a bit more – ideally he can even come with me. But as we’re in the middle of a global pandemic I’m not giving it a lot of thought as we aren’t allowed travel anyway.
What advice would you go back and tell your pregnant/new mama self?
I would tell my pregnant self that ‘your son will be healthy and gorgeous and the love of your life and you will be fine, no, great, so just chill, girlfriend… Oh, and stop wasting your time visualising what he might look like because he looks nothing like that (he’s way cuter)’
How you do you find ways to connect with who you are outside of being a mother?
I make conscious time to exercise alone. That’s really important and if I fall off the wagon even for just a few days I really notice it, not just in my body but my brain. Working for myself gives me the opportunity to put time into projects or causes I am passionate about.
Covid-19 has made things on the self-care front take a bit of a dive, I must admit. My yoga studio is shut and Bikram in your lounge room with lego everywhere just isn’t the same. When I’m drawing a lot I go for quite a few massages especially on my arms – otherwise, after two months of about 7-8 hours a day drawing everything starts to hurt. But I can’t go to my regular place at the moment either so I’m just trying to be more mindful of things like stretching and posture while I work.
How did/has Covid-19 affected you in terms of business and at home?
In terms of work, not much has changed as I usually work from home anyway. On the home front though, we are a family that likes to get out of the house a lot, we are usually taking off to a country town to explore or find a bush trail to trek. We also love heading out for late-night desserts after dinner… sadly all that has stopped and while we are trying to be pragmatic about the lockdowns and are on board with doing what we need to do to stay safe and keep everyone safe, deep down we’re pretty over it and can’t wait to get back out into the world.
Do you have an ultimate mum-hack?
Put your phone away.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt about motherhood?
Behaviours are messages, so listen and respond with loving intention.
What is your favourite thing about being a mum?
I love carrying my son in from the car if he’s fallen asleep after a long drive. I don’t know why but I’ve always loved something about putting him on my shoulder and carrying him in like that. I can’t explain it. And our post-dinner dance parties. That’s my favourite time of the day together. We listen to everything from AC/DC to the Trolls soundtrack, really loud, in our living room and it’s 20 minutes or so of mayhem and pure joy.
What is next for you?
I have some really exciting things cooking behind the scenes over here, all top secret at the moment I’m afraid! Watch this space. One thing I do know is that you never know what the day will bring. I’ll keep working hard with passion and love and keep my mind open to the fact that anything can happen.
Visit adairs.com.au to shop Fleur’s collection with Adairs or follow Fleur on Instagram @fleurharris for more creative inspo.