Spotlight on: Tiriki Studios

Tiriki Studios

“My biggest inspiration is the beautiful country we call home. She offers the most exciting colour palettes, whimsical textures and beautiful landscapes, and never fails to surprise me.”

As a Wonnarua/Wiradjuri woman, Kharleigh named her beautiful small business Tiriki Studios from the Wonnarua language, meaning the colour red or ‘fire’. She started Tiriki Studios in the midst of the 2019 bushfires that swept through the east of Australia. Kharleigh says she finds the process of weaving and knotting soothing, grounding and soulful, and it allows her to explore the versatility and flexibility of fibre as a medium, which you can definitely see throughout the pieces she creates.

Kharleigh with one of her incredible creations, which features a Caribbean Calcite in the centre

Even though she predominantly works with fibres now, Kharleigh’s creative background is in painting and printmaking, and she even has a degree in Visual Arts! She says that while her background is elsewhere, she has been knotting on and off for a long time, but has been working on her macrame and knotting skills consistently for about four years now. She says that one of the best things about her business is being able to work from home which gives her the opportunity to spend time with and support her family, as well as offering a creative outlet to fill her cup.

We asked Kharleigh what her advice would be to anyone wanting to start their own business, and she said not to wait until you feel ready, because the truth is that you never really will. Take the leap and see where it takes you!

You can find Kharleigh’s beautiful handmade pieces at The Mill Marketplace, Pyree. Keep and eye out for her stall Tiriki Studios.

We love having such passionate members at all of our stores down and around the South Coast of NSW, if you would like to find out more about our stallholders or what is happening at The Collective Beat, The Mill Marketplace, or Ready Set Pop Up, be sure to sign up to our mailing list and be the first to hear about all the events for the coming months!