A Life Outside with Shahn Stewart of Alchemy Orange

With Melbourne Design Week coming up next month, we wanted to introduce everyone to one of our creative collaborators. Botanical designer/artist, and Yorta Yorta woman, Shahn Stewart finds great inspiration on Country, which she distils in her creative works.

Left: Botanic installation for a wedding.
Right: ‘Barrpan’ woven grass sculpture inspired by Emily Kam Kngwarray’s painting ‘Big Yam’ for the 2023 Art of Bloom exhibition at the NGV.

What comes to mind when you think of A Life Outside?

Sounds like my dream life honestly! I try to immerse myself in nature as much as physically possible, it refills the cup and takes the monotony out of everyday city life. When you’re looking at manmade landscapes they tend not to change too much, there’s less room for chance. Whereas in the bush you never know what’s going to happen or what you might see. In Naarm there are so many more seasons than the 4 we are mostly aware of, and it’s beautiful watching how nature reacts to all those changes.

Set Design for the 2022 Moth Design Ganbu Marra runway at The Meat Market.

What led you to botanical design?

I feel that being an Aboriginal woman we have an ingrained connection to Country, and that’s a feeling I never really had a label for, but that was always very much a part of how I interacted with the world. So 15 years ago I began my career in the Floristry industry and the last 5 of those have been dedicated to my own pursuits, Alchemy Orange. Through this I’ve now got a direct way to channel my perspectives and my love of nature, using all of its strange and crazy forms to express myself.

Botanical stage design for Treaty Authority event.

Could you share your creative process?

My creative process varies from project to project, I’m a big visual learner, and I tend to collage together ideas from shapes, forms and colours that I’m seeing and that resonate with me. Alot of my work focuses on bold texture and colour combinations. Again going back to the seasons, these periods also dictate what we see and what is available, meaning in many ways you have to be in tune with the bush to find the right balance between your own designs and Country’s intricacies.

Grassland set design for Kathmandu AW22 Return to Nature campaign.

How do the great Australian outdoors influence you as a creative? 

Across the many Countries that make up Australia, one thing is consistent, that it provides some of the most interesting and robust materials. Forms and patterns and textures you won’t find anywhere else, and in which you can see the history of the land. I try to prioritise and incorporate our native materials in everything I do, I feel they’ve been undervalued for too long. There’s something so inspiring about not only aesthetic but the utilitarian uses and how Country really can provide for every need we have.

Native beachscape design for Ralph Lauren x Australian Open photoshoot.

What does sustainability mean to you, and how does it play out in the work you do?

Sourcing local materials, supporting local flower farms over imported & artificially dyed flowers, repurposing and reusing materials, finding uses and beauty in dried materials that may have once lived out its life. All of these are really important staples for a florist that wants to be sustainable. But its also about shifting the perspective of what our beauty standards are, and beginning to work with what we have, regenerating Country and really leaning into the planting and propagation of native species so that down the track we will have a thriving commercial native sector as well as a healthy ecosystem for everyone.

Quick 6

1. Most inspiring outdoor space?
Very difficult to choose just one! Can I say them all? I think I aim to find beauty/inspiration in the often overlooked of the everyday. This could be a beautiful sculptural branch or a cluster of rocks. Inspiration is everywhere.

2. Favourite regular outdoor hangout?
Afternoon walks with my dog down in the bush by the Yarra Bend near my house.

3. Favourite outdoor sculpture/piece of art?
I love all the outdoor sculptures Aunty Kim Wandin has recently produced.

4. Must-see Australian landscape?
Litchfield National Park, NT
Beaches along the South-West coast of WA – Esperance, Dunsborough etc.
The Eyre Highway stretch of the Nullarbor Plains just before you reach Port Augusta, in particular the Gilles Downs/Corunna Station area. So beautiful!

5. What do you love about A Life Outside?
Everything!

6. Favourite Tait piece?
I love the Voom Lounger and Ottoman, could definitely see myself kicking back with a good book here!

Published 5 May 2025
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