Emma’s earliest designs were created on the singer sewing machine at the age of 5, after she’d grown impatient with the limited pace and scope of hand-sewing favoured by her Mum. This was soon followed by lessons in pattern alterations, crochet and knitting with her Nanna.  Receiving a scholarship to join the art programme at Applecross SHS, Emma spent her Saturdays at school, tutored by local artists in various disciplines including ceramics, painting, printmaking and textiles. This experience nurtured her love of art and design, and fuelled her pursuit of a creative career.  Growing up close to Fremantle, in one of the most remote cities in the world, instilled a love of the coast, but always with an eye on the horizon.  Emma travelled extensively through the Middle East, Europe and South-East Asia following a Fine Art degree at UWA.  A stint in London as Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney burst onto the scene cemented her desire to pursue a degree in fashion design.  Scouted by stylist Virginia Dowzer during her graduate year at RMIT University in Melbourne, she came to the attention of Gary Theodore, leading to a brief tenure at Scanlan and Theodore.  This was followed by to her first design role at Stüssy.  Working in Abbotsford and Port Melbourne, it was an unconventional fashion gig, with colleagues skateboarding through head office corridors.  Collaborating on print concepts with international artists, while working with local denim mills and laundries, local screen printers and leather artisans during these early years formed the basis of her design repertoire.  Her later position as Urban Career Designer with creative director Sophie Holt at Country Road, honed her tailoring skills, working with extensively with silk and high end European fabrications.   Emma was headhunted for a role at Seafolly just as LVMH purchased the business, which saw her relocation to Sydney.  Gaining exposure to the international swim and resort markets, across the US, UK, Middle East and Australasia, this role saw her working with clients such as Galleries Lafayette in Paris, Bergdorfs and Harvey Nichols.  

Joining heritage brand Jag at the APG stable, Emma turned her focus to a more sustainable approach to fashion. While leading the creative direction across mens, womens and accessories, she worked with organic natural fibres, and more sustainable practices with a view to a lighter touch on our environment. Successive covid lockdowns in Sydney prompted a move to online designing.  With iPad sketching, screen sharing, zoom meetings, and shared online resources, the ‘new normal’ showed us how we successfully we could design while working remotely. It also presented an opportunity to segue into interior design, another passion of Emma’s, as she embraced 3D sketching.  When she was approached  to collaborate with Kirsten Stanisich (Richards Stanisich interior architects) and Anneke van den Brooke (Rufus & Coco), Emma launched In situ, her freelance business.  After 25 years on the east coast, home beckoned, and she returned to WA.  Now based in North Fremantle,  Emma starts most days at her local dog beach with Iggy the whippet. 

A versatile designer, Emma welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse client base, across a spectrum of markets.   

Emma is currently available for design & consulting.