On my recent trip to the Pilbara to photograph our new Home collection, I had the joy of spending time with artist and Yindjibarndi Elder, Wendy Hubert from Juluwarlu Art Group. Spending time together in the sunshine, we talked about what she’s been working on since our first collaboration: cultural camps on Country, painting, and the incredible achievement of her first solo exhibition and artist book.

Wendy shared the stories behind the works featured in our upcoming collection – places like Yarraliny at Millstream, native waterlilies, and memories of teaching the younger generations how to dig for the edible bula.

It’s always so grounding to hear from Wendy, her deep connection to Yindjibarndi Country, how she advocates for the land, her warmth and wisdom. Read on to here from Wendy!

It has been a busy time for me! We have had lots of surveys and camps on country and we have been teaching new visitors every week about Yindjibarndi lore and culture and sharing how beautiful and important our Country and plants and animals are. Last year I had my first solo exhibition with Paul Johnstone in Darwin and with the help of Juluwarlu I wrote and published an artist book that included two essays by me and pictures of all my paintings. It felt so good to see my paintings and my stories in a book. To hold it and share it with my family felt very powerful.

Yarraliny at Millstream is an artwork I painted last year for my exhibition. It is one of my favourite places at Millstream, on Yindjibarndi Country. A special, sacred place
connected to our culture and our ceremonies. The yarraliny is the native waterlily. It has a small, long yellow flower and the bula (root bulb) is edible. Now I am an old grannie I teach the young people how to follow the stem down under the mud with your hands and feel for the bula and then pull it out.

The bula tastes a bit like a potato, and you can boil it or cook it in ashes and eat it with meat. I like the purple colour and the soft feel of the cotton on the katha blanket you have made. I also love the small palm tree at the top and embroidered it on the cushion. I have never seen my artwork like this and it feels very special.

I love them all but my favourite is the Ngurra, Yindjibarndi Country quilt. The orange and green with bits of purple and khaki and the blue clouds that swirl up like they are a portal to my world. The stitching makes it feel 3D and give it form. I just want to wrap myself in it and sleep under the night stars, where I can warmly dream up what to paint next.

A note from Emily

After our first collaboration with Wendy and Juluwarlu Art Group, we knew we wanted to keep creating together. As we began dreaming up a Home collection, I was drawn to the idea of using Wendy’s full artwork panels on quilts – letting her stories and landscapes take centre stage. There’s such a softness to her work that feels right at home, literally.

To balance and complement her forms, I added subtle design elements – border stripes, blocks of plain dyed colour drawn from her palette – that would sit gently (or sometimes boldly!) alongside her paintings. We also used embroidery and kantha stitching to bring depth and texture: hand-stitching that follows the curves of trees and clouds, and beautiful little details like the palm tree and Wendy’s signature on the Waterlily Cushion.

It’s been a true privilege to bring Wendy’s work into the everyday rituals of home and we can't wait to launch the collaboration on 3rd June 2025.

Emily x