Bright, colourful, cheerful, fun. These are the words that immediately came to mind when we stumbled across the colourful and creative handmade pieces from Chimerical Homewares.
A friend tagged us in one of their pics on Instagram (thanks Neri!) and we just knew we’d discovered something special. Today we had the pleasure of chatting with the gorgeous pair behind this fabulous artistic business.
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We wanted to know more about the duo behind Chimerical Homewares — Perth besties, Sharnah and Charissa.
“Sharnah and I met while studying fashion design at TAFE,” explains Charissa.
“Everyone thinks we’re sisters (we’re not!). We’re actually born one day apart though, so are almost like non-biological twins!
“Sharnah is an absolute pet lover with 2 rabbits, a cat and a dog. I’m a real cat person and my partner and I foster cats for cat haven.
“Oh, and Chimerical wasn’t our first business idea either! We actually planned out a pyjama label in our student days called ‘Cotton Candy Clouds’.”
Calling each piece a work of art in its own right, Sharnah and Charissa just wanted to have fun and be creative — anything else was a bonus.
“At Chimerical Homewares, we create hand painted ceramics. Each piece is individually painted to create works of functional art. Our style is a quirky abstract with lots of dots and detailing. Each piece takes us up to 4 hours to paint before we hand glaze and fire everything,” says Charissa.
“We got into ceramic painting when we both worked at a ‘Paint your own ceramics’ cafe where we taught kids to paint cute ceramic figurines.
“Soon our own houses began to overflow with our creations, and so, Chimerical was born!”
The word Chimerical means to have an unchecked imagination.
“We always like to describe Chimerical as, ‘Two girls on a fun-filled homewares adventure’. That sums up how the last couple of years have felt for us!
“Sharnah and I never really had expectations for Chimerical, we just wanted to be creative! Now we have an online store, stockist across the country and run weekly workshops for adults.”
With such colourful, happy pieces, we wanted to know where they find inspiration for their designs.
“We don’t really have one solid inspiration — we both just love colour and quirky things. We started off with really graphic prints like bananas and avocados, then started to explore ways to bring that into a more abstract style.
“Our style has been a bit of an evolution! We started painting a lot of native flowers and I think this has been a big influence on our pieces for the last year, in the colours and forms of our shapes.
I love that different people see different things in our paintings. Our main goal has always been for our art to bring a smile and excitement to someone’s face!
As a semi-side hustle, the artistic duo just want to keep creating beautiful pieces for their loyal and passionate customers.
“We both have part-time jobs and then work on Chimerical before and after work and on the weekends. It’s a labour of love that’s for sure,” laughs Charissa.
“We’ve been super excited to feature on some amazing Instagram pages like Noticing Ceramics, Australian Ceramics and Interiors Addict.
“And one of our fave things is going to the Stackwood Made Local market. It’s such a highlight for us both! Our customers get so excited for our new creations and to meet us. It’s always the best weekend and leaves us feeling all warm and fuzzy.”
Charissa and Sharnah admit that running their own business on the side doesn’t come easy, but are still excited to expand and grow their beloved Chimerical Homewares.
“If you really love what you do and it feels right, people respond to that,” says Charissa.
“Find something that’s authentically you and be prepared to work hard! Running your own brand isn’t easy. It takes a lot of hard work and long hours to start out.”
“We’re excited about our future as we grow and expand what Chimerical is all about. We’re currently working on our new textiles collection including some incredible cushions!” Charissa says excitedly.
“We’re looking at including some really cool textures and techniques like embroidery and punch needling. Then there are some new tapestry style wall hangings which we’re also super excited about.”
Thank you so much to Charissa and Sharnah for showing us around the colourful world of Chimerical Homewares. Check out their current collection, book a workshop or discover where you can find their gorgeous pieces on their website or Instagram.
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