Very into: sunlit studio mornings, hydrangeas from the garden, toddler giggles, and making emails feel like letters from an old friend. Making creativity a career since 2018.
I'm Jess
a fine artist, surface pattern designer, and educator leading a purpose-led studio where art becomes a way to celebrate, create, and tell the stories that matter.
In fact, just a decade ago, you could have found me wearing creative burnout like a badge in the name of perfection, wondering if art could ever be more than a side-hustle and when I would finally feel like I belonged. My Fine Art degree would give me skills but no path and what I found was overwhelm, anxiety, and years of struggling with owning my identity as an artist.
I didn’t always have this business: the fabric collections, the licensing deals, the students and the collaborations…
By 2022, I had built a beautiful portfolio but almost everything I created belonged to someone else. Client briefs and exclusivity had left me burnt out and longing to design on my own terms. So I drew a line in the sand: before our baby arrived, I would curate my own pattern library, write my own briefs, and open the door to licensing. The night before she was born, my first licensing contract landed in my inbox. I immediately knew I’d found the path I was meant to take.
Want to know what really lights me up? Helping women artists believe they belong before they become a brand. Walking alongside them as they digitise their art, license their patterns, and build businesses that honour their family, values, and pace. I believe creativity isn’t just about making art, it’s about making a life you love.
If I could find a better way, I believe you can too.
I’m probably in my KZN studio surrounded by azaleas and hydrangeas, toddler toys tucked under the desk, sipping coffee (with traces of paint) while planning a new pattern collection.
CURRENTLY
My maiden surname still get’s to see the light of day when one of my lifelong boarding school friends call or message.
I design collections of fabrics, wallpapers, and illustrated products that live in homes across the world.
My daughter is my greatest joy and daily reminder to slow down and savour what’s right in front of me.
Through my course Brush to Brand, I help women artists go from feeling stuck to building sustainable studios while believing they belong.
My marriage is built on over a decade of nicknames that only make sense to us.
That's my name
Titles I get to live by
If these lines resonate, you’ll love my
10 Essays for Your Becoming Season.
My Story:
From the beginning
It started as a student side-hustle, painting portraits to help pay for supplies. Years later, Watercolour Heart has grown into a design studio partnering with international brands, creating fabrics, wallpapers, and illustrated products. None of it was overnight. Every opportunity came from choosing purpose over perfection and building a creative life rooted in intention.
I started my side-hustle painting portraits from the desk next to my bed with the watercolour set my Gran left me, selling them for R50 a piece. Humble beginnings, but the spark was lit.
Portrait commissions expanded into wedding stationery and nursery art. My first watercolour workshop sold out for 20 people and I discovered a new love: teaching.
I threw myself into learning Adobe Illustrator, devouring tutorials late into the night. Requests started coming in from Instagram for logos & small brand projects.
I felt the thrill of stepping onto a creative path of my own.
FROM STUDENT SIDE HUSTLE TO A PURPOSE-LED INTERNATIONAL DESIGN STUDIO
2015
2017
2016
More
Workshops & Weddings
Fifty Rand
portraits
learning to
Brand
I began building my first online watercolour course but stopped when my dad unexpectedly passed away in February. That August, Nate and I were married, and I slowly returned to finish the course through grief. This year taught me resilience and that creativity is a lifeline, even in loss.
The week I planned to launch my course, the world shut down. Still, over 100 students signed up for Watercolour Made Simple. I also co-founded a stationery brand, Creativ & Heart, while moving cross-country.
We made a new home on the farm. My calendar was fully booked with branding and pattern design projects - a dream on paper, but I began to feel caught in a cycle of deadline after deadline, yearning for more space to grow.
Graduated with an Honours degree in Fine Art and immediately employed myself full-time. I designed guidebooks for a corporate NPO while pitching surface pattern design to boutiques and small brands. Landed my first international branding client. (Oh, and got engaged!)
2019
2018
2020
More
Farm life, Full calendar
Graduated, Employed & Engaged
Loss & new beginnings
A Course &
a Shutdown
2021
Our baby girl arrived six weeks early and the night before her birth, my first licensing contract landed in my inbox. I paid myself four months of maternity leave and even designed an advent calendar during nap times, which led to licensing with Moda Fabrics. A year of proof that preparation meets opportunity.
We DIY’d a new studio space, filled with light and hydrangeas from the garden. I returned to creating personal projects like printable treat boxes, designs that bring creativity home, while partnering on incredible collaborations.
With a decade of lessons behind me, I began packaging my knowledge into Brush to Brand, my signature course for artists. Alongside a redesigned website and online school, I’m stepping into this next season ready to mentor creatives in building studios rooted in purpose, not pressure.
I drew a line in the sand. This was the year I would build my own pattern library and step into licensing. I invested over $5,000 in courses and consultations with artists and agents around the world. I fell pregnant, and my mission became clear: to create art that built a future for my family and my studio.
2023
2025
2022
and cribs
2024
begins
Contracts
A studio
of dreams
Licensing journey
The big leap
GET IN ToUCH
Your ideas deserve more than just a Pinterest board collecting dust. Whether it’s a product, a brand refresh, or a story you’re ready to share with the world, I’m here to translate your vision into design that connects and inspires. Let’s move your ideas from your head to my hands and reach the hearts and homes of others.
Turn Your Vision Into Something You Can Hold
Ready to book?
