Inside Textile Brand Mosey Me's Colourful Brunswick Studio

In the early years of her career, textile designer Eliza O’Sullivan set herself a goal; to start her own business before her 30th birthday. And, shortly after she turned 29, she launched Mosey Me, a textile brand selling hand-made, everyday homewares.

At the time Mosey Me’s offering included a small collection of Melbourne-made tableware, which Eliza painted and printed locally. Now, five years on, the brand has expanded to include bed linen, bathroom accessories and fine art prints, all hand-painted and designed in Eliza’s colourful Brunswick studio.

Written

Christina Karras

A wonderland of colour! Photo – Amelia Stanwix

All Mosey Me prints are hand painted in Eliza’s Brunswick studio before being translated onto fabrics. Photo – Amelia Stanwix

Eliza says she learnt a lot working full-time for major Australian retailers, which ultimately gave her the confidence to go out on her own! Photo – Amelia Stanwix

‘As many small business operators will tell you, my day-to-day now is generally 90 per cent admin and 10 per cent creative,’ Eliza says. ‘I would love to be designing all day, but that just isn’t the reality. I have had to draw on my determination to see the Mosey brand succeed and evolve to get through times when I have faced challenges in the business.’ Photo – Amelia Stanwix

Pieces from Mosey Me’s second collaboration with Melbourne ceramicist Arcadia Scott. Photo – Amelia Stanwix

‘I absolutely love creating mood boards. I usually start by doing a massive photo dump of everything I’m loving at that point in time; photos I’ve taken, fashion or style inspiration and home interiors, architecture, anything. I then group these images by colour story and see what threads start coming through – this is almost always how I find my colour palettes.’ Photo – Amelia Stanwix

‘I am forever inspired by women and seek so much comfort in the presence of them. It all stems back to connection – and the connections I’ve forged with women over the years are so special and ultimately feel like lifelines,’ the designer explains. Photo – Amelia Stanwix

‘A lot of the time I paint with black ink and play with colour once I translate the designs onto my computer. I really enjoy the fluidity that painting with ink allows for and I don’t get stuck trying to perfect a colour. However, I do still paint with colour to mix it up the textures and keep it interesting,’ Eliza says. Photo – Amelia Stanwix

Her business has grown immensely since she started out in 2016. Photo – Amelia Stanwix

Half Moon Table Cloth by Mosey Me. Photo – Amelia Stanwix

Her work space is like an extension of her vibrant designs. Photo – Amelia Stanwix

Writer

Christina Karras

25th of March 2022

Eliza O’Sullivan says she always dreamed of starting her own business. She relished the design classes she took in high school, eventually enrolling in a full-time folio preparation course. From there, she made her way into RMIT to study a Bachelor of Art in Textile Design.

But despite her long-held love of her craft, Eliza only started Mosey Me after eight years of ‘manifesting’ her now-successful brand!

‘I gave myself a deadline of my 30th birthday to launch my business, so just after I turned 29, my website went live with a small collection of Melbourne made tableware! I was still working full time and just navigating what it felt like to finally have my work out to the world,’ Eliza says.

‘It felt good to take the first step in curating the life that I yearned for, one that worked better for me and that felt more creatively fulfilling.’

The brand started out with tableware, which Eliza could hand-paint and print locally herself, before consciously expanding to bed linen with the help of a factory in India.

‘We have been careful to grow and expand our product offering at a measured pace. Our collaborations have been a really fun way to add flourish to our core ranges whilst also getting to work alongside some amazing creatives and friends,’ Eliza adds.

Mosey Me has also collaborated on shoes with Nelson Made, apparel with Lois Hazel and Hew clothing, bags with Simetrie, and ceramics with Arcadia Scott!

While her love of moodboards and themes of strong women, sisterhood, colour and art have remained as key inspirations behind her designs, Eliza says a lot has changed five years into her growing brand. Her hardest challenge has been making the transition from being a textile designer to a business owner.

‘I’m a true creative at heart, and have had to develop new skill sets to be able to manage the production, logistics, e-commerce, operations, and financial aspects of Mosey,’ she explains.

‘Behind every finished Mosey product is countless hours of dreaming, dozens of emails, rejected samples, logistical nightmares (and sometimes tears!) – but the finished result is seeing Mosey in the beautiful homes of our customers which makes it all worth it.’

You can shop Mosey Me’s designs here, and follow Eliza here.