Local artist brings “happy art” to homewares range

A Torquay artist has fulfilled a career-long dream, collaborating with iconic Australian retailer Adairs on a homewares range that showcases her vibrant works of art.

Erin Reinboth is known for her intuitively led, textural artworks, dubbed “happy art”, that feature striking and, at times, unexpected colour combinations.

“I’m a bit of a storyteller in terms of creating memories and moments on a canvas, and colour directly reflects that for me,” she said.

“I like the idea of encouraging the viewer to connect to those colours and those combinations and the textures and take their own story from the canvas.”

After studying textile design at RMIT and working for 15 years with well-known fashion brands such as Cotton On to craft collaborations with artists, Ms Reinboth has now found herself on the other side of the process, taking on the role of the talent.

She said her homewares collaboration with Adairs had “exceeded all her expectations”.

“[Adairs has] just got such a huge brand following and such a loyal customer base because of their quality.

“I felt good about the whole journey because I knew they would deliver something spectacular.

“But it’s still blown me away. It’s even better than I thought it would be.”

Almost a year in the making, the collection features two artworks by Ms Reinboth printed across a range of homewares that includes bathmats, cushions, throws and bed linens.

“I love the idea of art being accessible,” she said.

“It can be on so many different platforms and it doesn’t have to be thousands of dollars purchased through a gallery.”

For Ms Reinboth, the tufted throws are “the showstopper” of the collaboration.

“I was seriously blown away with the throws they created – just how they’ve taken my artwork and then they’ve elevated it to celebrate really unique characteristics that are in my paintings into a textile form, so adding that tufting, the tactility.

“It’s a really crisp, digital print, but it’s on a woven fabric.”

She said the experience had encouraged her to consider other collaboration opportunities, and she hoped her recent success would inspire other artists to keep exploring new avenues to “get their work out there”.

“I’ve had so many people rally behind me. It’s been just breathtaking and quite emotional.

“In a space that can be quite competitive, it’s really celebrated that whole concept of collaboration over competition, especially with my peers.”

Next month will also see the launch of a range of phone and laptop cases and AirPod holders as part of a collaboration between Ms Reinboth and tech company, The Dairy.

“[I’m] so excited to share that when that comes out because that’s a whole other platform to make more accessible art, and to showcase it through something that we use every day.”

To view the Ms Reinboth’s collaboration with Adairs, head to adairs.com.au or follow @erinreinbothart on Instagram.