Stay darling story

Growing up in a small, dusty country town, Carley was the girl with all the hobbies: painting, knitting, drawing, baking. Your classic indoor kid.

With a couple of careers already under her belt, Carley is now an emerging surface pattern designer, currently based in regional Queensland, Australia.

She spent over a decade in the not-for-profit arts sector, specialising in regional arts and youth arts, grant administration and marketing, before local government called to her sense of community and public service where Carley has worked for 15 years. She has developed a deep love of sustainability and community engagement in the waste and recycling services, building teams of passionate and dedicated to education and communications.

This past year has led to some reflection and some earnest work on a 1915 workers cottage renovation, has made it clear life's too short not to spend more of it making things that bring people joy so Stay Darling has emerged - design grounded in thoughtful inspiration from the landscapes she grew up around. Pattern creations for use across homewares, fabric and stationery.