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Kara Hynes is probably better known as Lulu Lucky, a Brisbane stylist and crafter who channels childhood nostalgia with her various visually pleasing projects. A ‘hands-on’ maker, Kara has a penchant for colour, and makes the cutest paper goodies and soft toys (her sweet hand stitched swan cushions are our current favourite!).
Kara’s path to her current creative career started with a few years spent working as a florist, during which time she had both her children. As luck would have it, Kara’s second child, Luella (now 3), slept like a champion, and so Kara began experimenting with various paper-y creations during the downtime. Her paper rosettes, string-and-tie envelopes, piñatas, and paper garlands quickly gained popularity, and featured in various editorial shoots.
Around this time Kara also discovered Instagram and from here things snowballed. ‘I was contacted by a stylist enquiring whether I would like to make some items for a shoot she was working on for Inside Out magazine. I was so excited, except that it was a Sunday evening and she needed the product in Sydney by Tuesday morning,’ says Kara!
‘I’m a total ‘say yes and work out how to do it later‘ type of person, so found myself on a plane Monday night so that I could hand deliver the items on Tuesday morning!’ Kara says. ‘Since then, I’ve been very lucky to work with some of the most talented, inspiring ladies, either making props or styling for them.’
Kara’s enthusiastic nature has served her well. She now juggles styling work with family life and various other creative commissions, working nights and weekends from a modest studio set-up in her kids’ backyard cubby house! She has also been involved in some exciting local projects, such as the new luxury hotel Halcyon House on Cabarita Beach, where she has been employed as a stylist. She is also currently developing her own product line. Other projects include illustration work for clothing labels, a Brisbane restaurant fit-out, and working on in-store events for West Elm and Pottery Barn.
Process-wise, Kara is a mood board devotee, using both Pinterest and real life boards when first tackling a new creative brief. The inspiration board in her cubby studio is quite something! ‘Sometimes Pinterest just doesn’t cut it’ Kara says. ‘I like to see the colours, and how they sit next to one another, and feel textures. I can’t do those things through a computer screen!’
Having carved a niche for her unique skill set and gathered a strong client base in Brisbane and beyond, Kara couldn’t be happier with the point she’s at now. ‘I get to go to work in a job where I can be creative, make crazy ideas and plans come to life, and then come home and still make beautiful things on the side!’
Brisbane locals can meet Kara at the new Pottery Barn store in Fortitude Valley, where she will be hosting a free Lulu Lucky Kids ‘Craft-It-Up’ Workshop this Thursday October 1st, from 10am – 12noon.
