Natalie Jarvis grew up in Invercargill, the southern most city of New Zealand. Her childhood years were spent pottering around her Dad’s antique shop, which sparked a love for ‘old stuff’. After studying design and art history at Uni in New Zealand, she crossed the Tasman in 2007 to live in Melbourne.
Natalie started out with a career in publishing, as a book designer. A few years on, and after a bit of travel, she began working freelance as a designer and illustrator. A love of typography and vintage signs led to a fascination with neon… and before long Natalie found herself dreaming up the concept for Electric Confetti!
Real neon turned out to be logistically hard to transport, so Natalie was excited to discover a relatively new product called ‘LED neon flex’ which allowed her to create all kinds of neon designs on a relatively small scale, for decorative use at home. ‘LED neon flex has all the brightness of the traditional stuff, but no mercury, low wattage, and is also safe for kids spaces as it can’t shatter!’ Natalie says.
Electronic Confetti has a brilliant range of ‘off the shelf’ pieces which can be purchased online, including our personal fave, a bright yellow unpeeled banana, created in collaboration with local bedlinen label Kip & Co! Natalie also often works with clients on custom pieces.
‘I love working closely with each client. I’ll ask them the style they’re drawn to, and produce concepts based on those conversations’ Natalie explains. ‘I either hand draw the lettering, or choose a typeface that will work, based on the client’s preferences and the constraints of neon when it’s hand made. We would never just pump out a concept in Lucida handwriting if the client requested a ‘script font’!’ Once approved, Natalie’s designs are sent to an offshore manufacturer, where each custom sign is handmade to order.
Having been in operation for less than a year, Natalie is still super excited about the possibilties for her fledgling brand, and is brimming with new product and collaboration ideas. ‘I hope to keep challenging myself in the area of design, and the possibilities of this product’ she says. ‘I also hope to not necessarily follow what’s ‘on trend’ right now, but bring people designs they didn’t know they needed!’.
WELL I didn’t know I needed a giant neon BANANA until now, so I think we can safely say – mission accomplished!
