New Vibrant Wallpapers from Jacqueline Colley
Jacqueline Coley is a graphic artist and illustrator who’s designs are as versatile as they are interesting. We have seen her create everything from quaint country-style bird wallpapers to retro graphic wallpapers. Now she is releasing 8 more exclusive designs with Milton & King that will be sure bring life to your interior. We caught up with Jacqueline to dig a bit deeper into the thought and creativity that went into creating such a unique group of lovely wallpapers.
M&K: What have you been up to since launching your last collection with designs like Palm Springs, The Road Trip and Woodland Birds? Has anything changed in life?
JC: Well, last year I got married! I am so relieved we chose to do that in 2019! We had an under-the-sea-themed wedding and went a bit overboard making giant props like seaweed, a crab and more out of painted cardboard!
M&K: Congratulations! Sounds like it was a lot of fun!
We are loving your new designs.
Is there anything stylistically that links them all together?
JC: There is definitely a theme about collections, which is something I often revisit, drawing lots of different objects that are related to one another. So the 1980’s Office, Matchbooks, Seed Packets, Tea-Time and Ceramics all fall into that category. Then there is a travel theme with the Yucatán and New York print, both were made in response to traveling. I love to make patterns about places that I have visited!
M&K: In New York City, you managed to pack in so much pop culture, from food to cultural icons, have you ever visited New York?
JC: Yes, I made this design after visiting NYC at the beginning of 2019. Being in the city made me think about all the movies and how they are so interlinked with the personality of the city! We even visited the fire station from Ghost Busters, which is surprisingly small in real life, because it’s surrounded by massive skyscrapers! I knew that to draw this city I had to include those fun references to my beloved pop culture!
New York City is a fun tongue-and-cheek wallpaper design. It features a takeover of the Big Apple by elements of its own pop culture. National icons like the Statue of Liberty are mixed with King Kong, Godzilla, and a UFO among the cities skyscrapers. Donuts, pizza, martinis, pretzels and hot dogs are also featured stars in this chaotic scene. It’s a playful take on all the things New York is known for.
M&K: In the Yucatán design, you not only include the local wildlife but also structures of the indigenous culture, have you ever visited these sites?
JC: Yes in January 2020, I was actually in Mexico, which has been a dream of mine for so long! We hired a car and road tripped around including visiting the Yucatán Peninsula. (We visited)the beautiful beaches like Tulum where Mayan ruins sit on the coastal cliff edge and also the inland ancient city Chichen Itza. I was listening to a podcast on the Mayan civilisation and it was so fascinating. I often respond to visiting a new place through drawing.
Yucatán Wallpaper is a bright and bold botanical wallpaper design. It features a variety of lush tropical flowers and orchids as well as some of the most notable characters and structures of the Mayan peninsula. Leopards, iguanas, butterflies, cacti and palm leaves surround the Chichén Itzá pyramid and other pre-Hispanic structures. This wild tropical wallpaper is brimming with life and history.
M&K: Pond Pattern – What inspired this design. Much like Jungle Tiger, it seems to be an outlier in terms of the color palette in many of the other designs.
JC: I re-worked the colours of this design for wallpaper, I often work with really light and bright colours and I wanted to adapt this design for a different feeling!
Pond Pattern is a fun wallpaper. It is a celebration of nature and waterways featuring some wild characters like alligators, swans, flamingos and butterflies. This dark green animal wallpaper would be perfect for a kids bedroom. Bring your interior to life with this organic and dynamic design.
M&K: 1980’s Office comes across not only as retro but also very feminine.I also couldn’t help but notice the USB stick, which wasn’t invented until 1999. Was this a way of saying, this scattered office space is still the same for you today?
JC: I’m obsessed with stationery so this was about creating an opportunity to draw some of my favourite things! I then thought about office politics around stationery; whether it’s been ordered and a mad dash for fresh pens! So this design branched out into an office theme with coffee runs and retro computers. I think there’s always something more romantic about past objects. They remind us of our younger selves moving about in the world, getting to grips with new things!
1980’s Office Wallpaper is a fun, retro wallpaper design. With a light blue and pink color palette, it features a scattered desktop filled with office supplies: a stapler, a phone, paper clips, a ruler, a floppy disk, a calculator and highlighter. These are just some of the stationary items that make up this funky wallpaper design that harkens back to the 80’s style. It is perfect for an office, a commercial space or a teenage girl’s bedroom.
M&K: In Tea Time, behind the beautiful colors, there seems to be a subtle East meets West depiction. In fact, elements of Chinese, French and English culture are pleasantly displayed. Was this idea any part of the thought process? Or was it just about your memories of tea time?
JC: I selected elements to draw that I found inspiring. But I think tea is so emblematic of global trade and every country has their own unique relationship with local blends of tea. The English like to claim ownership but that’s some colonial confusion! I’m glad that my portrayal nods to some of the different regions that tea comes from and how varied it is!
Tea Time Wallpaper is an intricate and playful wallpaper design. This design uses a turquoise and pink color palette and features macaroons, cake, milk and, of course, plenty of tea cups and tea pots. It celebrates the long history that spans from the orient to England of taking some time out of the day to sit and converse over your favorite brew of tea. Encapsulating fantastical Alice In Wonderland vibes, it is a perfect kitchen wallpaper and would also be fitting in a hip commercial setting as well.
M&K: Your Match Books design gives me a Las Vegas vibe. I love the mix of colors in this design, it’s bold without being overwhelming… the shade of green mixed with the sunburnt red hue, mixed with pinks and orange. How did you land on this color palette?
JC: I often work with a restricted colour palette as it can help to keep a design cohesive. I bought a bunch of vintage matchbooks when I was in America and those influenced design. I often select a colour palette in advance of drawing and then re-interpret objects into my world and my colour scheme!
Match Books Wallpaper is a colorful retro wallpaper design. It’s nostalgic wallpaper featuring vintage matchbooks that makes you think of a diner on the roadside of Route 66 or an old smoke-filled casino on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. It’s a modern take on the Americana trend that will add color and joy to any room, perfect in commercial spaces like a cocktail bar or burger joint.
M&K: Does your Seed Packets design express any personal fondness for gardening? Does Jacqueline have a green thumb?
JC: I actually have a lot of houseplants and have been known to grow a tomato plant! My Dad was a very keen gardener with a veg patch. He would grow the most delicious vegetables including Jersey potatoes and sweetcorn. I’d like to follow in his footsteps but at the moment it’s just the houseplants!
Seed Packets Wallpaper is a fun gardening graphic wallpaper design. Vintage graphics and pastel hues are combined with a dash of Warhol. It’s a perfect wallpaper for those who love gardening and growing their own organic food. Colorfully displayed are seeds of carrots, daisies, watermelon, green beans and tomatoes.
M&K: The Ceramics Collection design makes me nervous…I feel like I might break something!
JC: So this design came out of a visit to the Cotswolds in the English countryside! I spent loads of time looking around these amazing old antique shops filled to the rafters with bits and bobs and honestly a lot of the things look like they belong in a museum! I’ve always had a love of Staffordshire pottery and I saw some amazing examples on this trip like a beautiful pair of lions sat on grassy mounds!
Ceramics Wallpaper is a joyful take on the maximalist trend. This graphic wallpaper design influenced by Staffordshire Pottery and earthy hues are combined to create a designer wallpaper that celebrates English eccentricities. It features urns, vases and statues of dogs, cats, lions, parrots and unicorns. For lovers of ceramic art, this funky wallpaper design pays homage with a sense of humor.
Thanks to Jacqueline for sharing a deeper insight into these fun new designs! To browse more Jacqueline Colley’s work, click here!
