In the Studio with Nicole Nelius: The Art of an Australian Summer

We are delighted to introduce a new artwork series for Archie Rose Tailored Spirits, our unique collaborative range. We partner with local artists and creatives so that each bottle becomes a canvas, with the artwork serving as the backdrop for personalised labels.

For this festive season, we’ve partnered with local artist Nicole Nelius in an ode to the Australian summer.

Nicole Nelius is an artist working in photography and painting. Her work explores still-life composition, characterised by organic objects and balanced with a playful and unique interaction of colour. Born in Canada, she now lives south of Sydney in the coastal town of Austinmer, where we visited her in her backyard studio.

"My studio is a separate space in the backyard a few steps down from my house," Nicole shares. "It's surrounded by nature changing throughout the year and currently enjoys the scent of jasmine wafting in. I love it and feel so lucky whenever I'm down there."

As Archie Rose's partner artist for this year's Christmas Tailored Spirits range, Nicole has infused her signature style into a collection that captures the spirit of an Australian summer. Nicole's artistic process is always grounded in colour exploration. "I love freeing up my go-to palettes and being open to exploring and mixing up new combinations of colour," she explains.

The collection is a visual feast featuring key ingredients of an Australian summer, artfully stacked against vibrant peach and teal backgrounds. "The gin and vodka labels are fresh, light and fruity — with a favourite peachy colour as the background," she explains. The whisky label, on the other hand, is "a bit moodier but still fun." Nicole adds, "The tea towel artwork is a really fun stack that says Australian summer, featuring a hermit crab, fruit and native botanicals. It also mimicked the shape of a Christmas tree, which feels very fitting for this holiday series!"

In addition to the Tailored range, this collection also includes a limited edition tea towel. There’s something just so great about an art tea towel, and Nicole agrees! “Oh, I love an art tea towel! I would definitely want one to use and one to admire. They look so pretty that I would want to keep one untouched as a backup to hang, though there is something really special about doing everyday chores with beautiful things.”

When asked about her current drink at home, Nicole reveals, "I recently learned how to make a whisky sour. Yum! There's something both refreshing yet warm and cosy about it. It's a fancy little drink for all seasons."

Bright, bold, and celebratory, Nicole’s work truly captures the spirit of an Australian Christmas. This Limited Edition artwork series includes a Tailored Gin and Tailored Vodka background, a Tailored Whisky background, a tea towel and a complimentary greeting card available with all purchases of the range via archierose.com.au