A cabinet of curiosities: Step inside artist Julia DeVille's gothic fairytale

Who: Artist and jewellery designer Julia deVille

Where: Collingwood

What: A house of curiosities

Julia deVille’s incredible jewellery and taxidermy have a distinctive style, and unsurprisingly, her house feels very much like an extension of her art practice. Her wunderkammer-inspired home is a true cabinet of curiosities.

Above her studio and showroom, the jeweller and artist’s home is populated by her own thought-provoking artworks and treasured ephemera. Here, ethically sourced taxidermy subjects (deVille only works with creatures who have died of natural causes) hover and perch in every corner.

DeVille bought her warehouse home 11 years ago, and undertook major renovations before moving in. Downstairs is dedicated to her work, and incorporates her jewellery workshop, showroom and an outdoor courtyard, while upstairs is her apartment, where we find her kitchen, living space and master bedroom.

The industrial and antique finishes throughout the house reflect her idiosyncratic aesthetic, and the whole home radiates with a distinctly Gothic character.

As a self-described workaholic, deVille says that shifting her showroom out of her bedroom has created a sense of separation between work and home. “The physiological barrier of now living upstairs and working downstairs has actually helped me to overcome this trait,” she says.

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DeVille characterises her design aesthetic as organic and evolving, based on “having always been a collector of beautiful things”.

Her most treasured pieces are her Adam Wallacavage octopus chandelier with its looping tentacles, and her own taxidermied Clydesdale mount.

Her location, tucked down a backstreet in vibrant Collingwood, is beloved by the artist as she is surrounded by friends, she says. DeVille loves that she can walk her dogs to the nearby Collingwood Children’s Farm, but still remains the perfect distance from the city.

It’s been an intensely busy year for deVille. The house, studio and showroom have been a buzzing hive of activity in the lead up to her show Wholeness and Implicit Order at Linden New Art gallery, open until November 4.

This will be deVille’s largest exhibition to date, and includes new work in the mediums of holography and virtual reality, technologies which allow deVille to further her exploration into the interconnectedness of all things, and the importance of treating all life with respect.

The Design Files guide to making it work

For creative people, living and working under one roof can be the key to business viability.

• Be disciplined. Treat yourself like an employee, with set hours each day.
• Get dressed for work each day.
• A regular, repeatable daily routine helps productivity. Create a morning ritual to kick-start your working day
• Set boundaries for where work will happen and keep one room (usually the bedroom) computer-free.
• Cultivate a different atmosphere in your work zone to encourage a different mindset: play different music, or light a scented candle as a sensory prompt.