North Home’s Melville Island Collection
An upholstery collection of hand screen printed textiles by Aboriginal Australians
In only a handful of months, Australia’s North Home has moved beyond their debut collection of homewares and released a striking new line of textiles for upholstery. The Melville Island collection does more than take inspiration from indigenous artists; the range features Aboriginal designs, which are then hand screen printed—with tremendous attention to detail. For the Melville Island collection, North creative director Jenna Tipuamantumirri actually utilizes the art of her grandmother Cornelia Tipuamantumirri—the oldest living artist on the Tiwi Islands (which include Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited island in Australia’s Northern Territory). There are two pattern styles within the collection—the Jilamara and Rokini—both of which employ variations of “mulypinyini pwanga” (known as lines and dots). All of the printing has been done upon 100% Eco Linen. Altogether, every element has been considered here, whether that’s producing a quality product or benefitting a community or artists whose work might have been lost otherwise.
You can explore the entire Melville Island collection online where prices start at $165 AUD per meter. 70% of the profits will go directly to the Foundation for Young Australians’ community youth program.
Images courtesy of North Home
