Being First Nations my family, my mob, my history and our land is extremely important to me.
I am proud to be indigenous and as I was creating Aussie Curls, I wanted it to reflect me and my heritage, my attachment to our amazing country that I am lucky enough to call home. Australia’s earth is rich and filled with some of the world’s most nourishing and healing properties, and over the years, outside our indigenous population, so much of this knowledge has been forgotten or lost. From the beginning of my Aussie Curls journey, I wanted to reconnect with this knowledge, to incorporate and celebrate Australian native plants and ingredients – using nature’s medicine to heal my hair and revive my curls.
When it came time to start thinking about branding and packaging for Aussie Curls, I was determined to reflect all of these elements that were so instrumental in bringing about my journey, and for once, my heart and mind were in complete agreement. There was one person who I knew could turn this dream into a reality for me and that person was Donella Waters.
Donella (or as we call her, “Nan Nan”) is not only an aunty and confidante, but also an exceptionally talented Aboriginal artist, and I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was the woman for the job. Donella grew up on Toomelah Mission in north west NSW. She is a self-taught artist, who honed her skills while working in early childhood education. Donella is a three-time finalist in the Parliament of NSW Indigenous Art Prize and in 2005 was awarded First Prize in the Aboriginal Artist Reconciliation Week Art Prize at Gosford Art Gallery.
When I asked Donella if she would be willing to do the artwork for my bottles, she didn’t hesitate for a second – in fact she sent me so many pieces that the choice became almost impossible. I wanted them all! As we release more Aussie Curls products, I will be able to showcase more of Donella’s spectacular work, not to mention the work of other guest Aboriginal artists for exclusive feature collections.
This determination to remain true our roots will always be a feature of Aussie Curls.
