We invited Nat Turnbull, our March guest stylist, to curate images that reflect her personal style and celebrate the Cocobella spirit. Her crisp and minimal aesthetic is indicative of her design and art background. We caught up with her to chat about her creative process and hear about her other recent collaborations.
Art director, stylist, visual merchandiser, buyer, and designer – Nat has an impressive resume. Looking at the quality of her quirky and colourful work, it’s easy to understand all of her achievements.
After completing her Fine Art, Sculpture degree at the VCA in Melbourne, Nat went onto intern at Confetti Systems in New York where she got to work alongside Julie and Nick who run the company and witness some amazing work with paper. Upon returning to Australia, Nat started working for Lucy Feagins of The Design Files – one of Australia’s most popular design blogs. Initially helping with styling at Open House events, Nat was offered a job as assistant stylist for The Design Files. “I just replied with all these emojis…as I was so happy” Nat says she “hadn’t thought about being a stylist before that, but it kind of just made sense with the artwork I was making,” and since then it has become something she loves to do.
Not content with limiting her talents to styling, she is also one half of Witu. After meeting at a bar, Elise Wilkens and Nat joined forces and set out to make the perfect everyday tote bag. Creating modern, minimalist and seriously cool bags, Witu was born in 2012. This passion project has grown from gifting bags to friends to now being stocked in boutiques and their online store.
“Since then, ” Nat says, “I’ve been experimenting with a range of different projects.” This includes styling for nail polish brand Kester Black, and collaborating with the National Gallery of Victoria for the Warhol/ Ai Wei Wei exhibition.
“I approached the NGV with the view to arrange a meeting to discuss stocking Witu, and they came back asking for us to collaborate.” Nat and Elise managed to organise a range for the exhibition in only one a month. The line has been extremely well received, however Nat still credits her biggest supporters being her family, “My mum went to see the exhibition, then went and bought a bag too!”
With such a creative spirit and entrepreneurial mindset, you’ve got to wonder who Nat’s admires. “My all time favourite stylist is Sonia Rentsch who is originally from Melbourne. Have you guys seen her work? It’s amazing, it’s the epitome of what I love.” She is also inspired by art, architecture and interior design, “there so many creatives in Australia doing amazing stuff and there is a lot of support for it here”
To say Nat works hard is an understatement. When asked how she juggles it all she replies with a laugh, “I just work all the time. Get up in the morning; start working, go to work, come home; work more. But it’s not really work to me, I just love what I do.” Up until last year her studio was at home, having just relocated the Witu studio has helped give her “separation”. Regardless, she still feels like she has a balance and gets to “hang out with her friends and see family” and it helps that she loves what she does.
A recent trip to Europe allowed her take some time out while exploring places like Turkey and Portugal among others, as well as gaining inspiration in old cities such as Paris and Milan. Nat’s a firm believer in taking the time to work and to play, this helps to keep her inspired and motivated.
It’s obvious her passion and drive is immense, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. “I feel like my career is just starting so I’m not sure what my greatest achievement is, it’s all about the process for me.”
Thanks for chatting to us Nat, we loved working with you and we love your style!
Follow us on Instagram and keep your eyes peeled for Nat’s styled images!
