Page 40 - Tropic Magazine Issue 35

TROPIC • ABODE

Hayley’s house How does your home make you feel?
Everything in my home has to have a
Q&A reason for being there. Sentimentality is
first! I love form that has function but I
Tropic takes a peek inside the home of professional also collect lots of vintage toys.
Cairns artist Hayley Gillespie, to find her interior Having these things around me helps me
design reflects what she puts on canvas get lost in my head and create the world
(and vice versa!). that arrives on canvas. Home is very
important, which is why there are always
little houses in my work.

Do you have a favourite room?
I try to create a vibe for each area, so it
depends on my mood. I really love 1950s
design as not only is it the decade my
house was completed, but it reminds
me of visiting my grandparents who
lived next door when I was growing up
in London – the magic place where ‘no’
became ‘yes’. I just love retro kitchens and
kitchen appliances. I also have three retro
bar areas. Ironically, I don’t cook very well
and I mostly have zero alcohol.

How have you gone about setting up
your workspace?
My workspace is a large shed in my back
garden. I built a place to work at home
because at the time my son was at school,
and I wanted to have the adaptability to
come and go easily and fit my work in
around his life.
As soon as I walk into that space, I’m in
‘work mode’. Now that my son has
grown up, I have my dogs at work
every day.

A lot of the furniture appears to
be upcycled. How do you spot a
fantastic piece?
I have a really strong sense of what I do
and do not like. I grew up in a hands-on
practical household and I studied at the
London College of Furniture and then
worked around antique shops and bought
and sold pieces. Plus, when you are
young and poor, you can get creative
quickly through buying second hand and
skip diving.
Nowadays, it’s my good friend who has
the amazing eye – particularly for my
own style. She will often send me texts
saying, ‘do you want me to grab this for
you?’ She is literally the Queen of
op shops!

40 • Tropic • Issue 35