Panthera collection

The design for the debut Panthera collection features the Clouded Leopard; the least well-known species of the big cats, and arguably it’s most endangered. Tigers and Orangutans are the well-known faces of the palm oil crises, but it’s the enigmatic Clouded Leopard that is equally threatened and goes almost unnoticed in comparison. MJ loves it’s incredible attributes like being able to scale a tree with its tail.

The broken tree portrayed in our painting symbolises deforestation, the primary cause of this rare beast’s diminishing population.

Our Clouded Leopard is set in its natural habitat, the typically bucolic lowland Sumatran rainforest but sightings of this magnificent cat have been seen in Borneo as well. MJ’s attempts at spotting one have been unsuccessful but hope springs eternal.

Besides addressing the pressing issues concerning this endangered species, the design embodies the way we like to look at art. Imaginative, whimsy, and giving the possibility for looking eyes to become amused by hidden details. Why would a white tufted pygmy squirrel be front and centre? MJ once had a pet squirrel named Jerry, and this lowly creature remains a firm favourite. Hidden crickets can be found when you look close enough, and our detailed show-and-tell card you receive with your artwork will tell you exactly in which of the many islands our insects reside.

The Clouded Leopard has dark fur with a smaller cloud pattern, as well as a strong tail that stretches as long as his body. With it, he is able to miraculously scale the treetops. MJ’s whimsical approach has the tail wrapped around the entire painting, surrounding the tray to offset the “stormy mahogany” finish. In this portrayal, you can imagine the low rumbling sound of his purr as his pupils contract to vertical slits in the pursuit of pleasure.

 flora collection

This piece of our debut collection pays homage to nutmeg, the once-precious spice that sparked The ‘Spice Wars’ of the late 17th century where Dutch and English trading companies fought to control and monopolise the spice trade from the Banda Islands. Nutmeg was so precious, the Dutch actually traded Run Island for New Amsterdam; now known as Manhattan and of course where the Dutch East India Trading Company began its domination of the area.

On a recent research and dive trip to the Banda Seas in the heart of the Maluku province, MJ was able to visit Run Island. It sparked her imagination to portray the metamorphosis of Indonesia as it escaped the burden of owning a commodity more valuable than the gold of its day. In our illustration, you see the Hebomoia Leucippe butterfly coming out of its cocoon and taking flight. From a painting perspective, this was one of the most challenging pieces to make with the background stripes painted on the gesso in black and army green. They ground the free-flowing pattern of the nutmeg branches, and we think it’s spectacular. Much like the underwater world of this area, which will be featured in one of our upcoming collections.

 Certainly Simian collection

Our Certainly Simian collection features a family of rare white-handed gibbons, also known as the Lar gibbons. Having spent a week in Borneo on a “Klotok” (wooden boat) on the rivers of Kalimantan and getting up close and personal with the endangered Orangutans, including going off course and into the forests to observe their behaviour first hand, MJ prefered the more gentle gibbons’ manners and ways. And so the choice was made. The White-Handed Lars are indifferent to their mates’ colouring and mostly monogamous, other than the occasional affair. Colourblind in their mating choices and tender with one another, we like their style and their beautiful markings of white-gloved hands and feet.

In our detailed illustration on the nesting trays, we see the touchingly close family intimacy of this endangered species. Fruit is their primary food, and depicted in our design is a family of three that are hanging out in a mangosteen grove with the father picking fruit and tossing it to his spouse. Mangosteens come with their own story of authenticity which you can read about in your show-and-tell card.

On our butler’s tray, the White-Handed Lars are at play at sunset, with the two children playing hide and seek. They rarely come to the ground, but instead use their long arms to brachiate through the trees and fly up to 40 feet through the air.

 Flights of Fancy

Why wouldn’t MJ choose one of the most extraordinary birds in the world to launch her debut collection! On the one hand, it’s driven by MJ’s obsession with Sir Alfred Wallace, who spent eight years seeking the birds of paradise in his travels through the Malay archipelago travelling through thousands of miles of jungle wilderness. On the other hand, it was driven by her once in a lifetime encounter with this rare bird. While in West Papua, MJ hiked up a mountain before dawn on her birthday, the 15th of March. After much anticipation, she spotted a Bird of Paradise, in this case; a Wilson, doing its mating dance at sunrise. It was a breathtaking moment, and she immortalized it in the design of the Flights of Fancy. Letting her imagination run freely, she envisioned two males dancing for the attention of the female.

David Attenborough was right when he said “Birds of paradise exemplify a whole aspect of life, of liquidity, the essence of life which got nothing to do with humanity, and which has been going on before primates even appeared on Earth.”

With their iridescent displays of colour, sound and motion, they perhaps wear the crown of the worlds tropical bird population. This rare species was once valued by royalty who used their feathers for hats. The name came from the practice of using only the plumes of these precious birds which, in those days, would arrive at the milliner’s without legs. As such, Birds of Paradise were described by royal ladies as “having fallen from the heavens.”