Personal Space: At home with renowned fashion designer Jenny Kee

Australian fashion designer Jenny Kee’s Blackheath home is exactly as you might imagine – a riotous mash of crocheted throws, rustic galvanised iron walls created by her late partner and artist Danton Hughes, and colourful cushions everywhere that she’s sourced in her travels to Guatemala, Africa and India.

There are needlepoint cushions she’s handcrafted, another by close friend Linda Jackson from the 1970s and plenty of Australiana references throughout. The property was a dairy farm first established in 1890.

In the mid-70s Kee opened her famous boutique Flamingo Park Frock Salon in Sydney.

Now, she’s part of an exhibition with Linda Jackson, the first in-depth survey into their creative partnership.

Step Into Paradise is a nod to their vision, and the importance of the Australian bush and Great Barrier Reef in their fashion storytelling which took kitsch Australiana to the mainstream.

Step into Paradise at Museum of Arts and Applied Sciences

A few of Jenny’s favourite things:

Waratahs in garden

I have 2000 waratahs in my garden. They are the most divine flower and my totem. My garden is a sea of red and it’s thanks to this ancient flower. They’ve been in my garden since 1997. They’re not natives, and have grown in excess because I keep planting them. I have a native bush garden too but, for me, this is my feature.

Buddha head

I bought this in Sukhothai in 1987. It’s only five centimetres tall and sits in the galvanised room on a wall there. I met my first Buddhist teacher, a forest monk, in 1986, and then went on a tour to see exquisite Buddha statues. It’s where my first love affair with Buddha began.

Waratah silk scarf

There are 24 waratahs in full bloom on this scarf. They were painted by me in 2009 and then masterfully printed to silk by Think Positive in Sydney. It’s my signature. I feel complete when I wear this. Waratah silk scarves aren’t something that come and go – it’s a classic piece of art that makes me happy. I don’t do trends. I wear what I love.

The kookaburra poker vase

Sally Campbell creates beautiful Indian textiles and gave me this vase in 1975. I am crazy about kookaburras and that is one of the most beautiful Victorian poker works I’ve seen. It’s wood and handmade – a divine piece of old Australiana with my favourite bird on it.

Waratah cushion

This was made for my by my dear friend Linda Jackson in the mid-70s.  It’s nearly 50 years old and still very precious. She hand-wrote a poem on the front and the back and used a woollen chain stitch to make it.  It holds a special place in my life and fits right in with all the waratahs.

The Galvanised Room

Danton loved using recycled materials and turned this into an installation room with all the rusty galvanised iron that’s all handmade. It’s a cosy room – great for snuggling down. It’s got plenty of soul too. I love the glorious shed feel about it – it’s sort of like the outside is inside. It’s amazing.