For Tammy, creativity isn’t a luxury, a pastime, or a clever side hustle. It’s an essential function—as vital, grounding, and non-negotiable as breathing or eating.
If you meet her today, you’ll immediately feel the momentum she carries. She’s a powerhouse: vibrant, confident, fiercely protective of local art, and deeply committed to building community wherever her feet land. But to understand how Tammy became the artist and community anchor she is today, you have to trace the thread back to a small wheatbelt town where she first felt like a stranger in her own skin.
Finding the Thread: From Country Alien to Art Room Keys
Growing up in a rural Australian town where sport was the undisputed religion, Tammy felt like an alien. She wasn’t sporty, and the rigid expectations of country life didn’t offer much room for a mind that wanted to make, mould, and express.
Her sanctuary was a small town called Muckinbudin, about 30 minutes away, where her Nanna lived. Together with Tammy’s mother, these two women opened the doors to an expansive world of art. Creativity wasn’t just a weekend project in their family; it was a way of living. Even cooking in their kitchen was an act of artistic expression.
When Tammy went off to board at Perth College over two decades ago, her creative spark found fuel. While the transition from farm life was significant, the school’s brand-new art department became her home. She didn’t just visit—she practically moved in. By Year 12, she had her own key to the art facility, spending every spare hour experimenting with textures, forms, and mediums.
Yet, despite her passion, the path forward wasn’t immediately clear. “As a farmer’s daughter, being an artist wasn’t really understood as a career,” Tammy reflects. Her family was supportive, but the traditional roadmap for an artist didn’t exist in her world.
So, she adapted. Armed with sharp intuition and natural drive, she entered corporate business development. She excelled at it—but she hated the environment. She was working “for the man,” watching her inner creative light dim under corporate fluorescent lights.
The true turning point arrived with the birth of her first son. Staring at her newborn, Tammy realised she could never go back to the corporate grind. She needed a life that allowed her to be present for her family while feeding her spirit.
Enter macramé.
What started as a therapeutic release at her kitchen table—knotting cord while sitting with her infant son—quickly unlocked something bigger. It was tactile, grounding, and endless in its structural possibilities. Driven by her business background, Tammy didn’t treat it as a fleeting hobby; she wrote a business plan from day one. For three years, every single dollar made was reinvested into the venture. She was determined never to return to a desk job, and through grit, hustle, and sheer talent, she made sure she never had to.
The Art of Coexistence and Wearable Sculpture
Fast forward 12 years: while many macramé trends have come and gone, Tammy is still here, thriving, evolving, and creating art for clients across the globe.
Her work ranges from soulful, intimate home pieces to show-stopping wearable art. Among her most cherished milestones are her macramé fashion pieces—intricate, flowing garments that have been worn by models on runways. “It showed me that I’m actually capable of a lot more,” she says. “It’s wearable art, and it reminded me how far I’ve come.”
Equally special to her is a large wall hanging that adorns her own home. In a career spent making art for others, crafting a grand piece strictly for herself was a profound act of self-care.
Tammy’s philosophy on the art scene is rooted in abundance rather than scarcity. “There is space for all of us to co-exist,” she notes. That lack of cynicism is precisely why she has built such a loyal following for her advanced, one-on-one masterclasses—run almost entirely through word-of-mouth—where she shares her intricate knotting techniques without gatekeeping.
Creating Community Anywhere (and the Perth ‘Secret Society’)
If you look at Tammy’s life, you’ll see a pattern: wherever she goes, community grows.
Having lived in 18 different places over 20 years, from London to her current home in the vibrant, left-leaning, and deeply creative neighbourhood of Bayswater—Tammy has mastered the art of putting down instant roots.
“Coming from a rural upbringing influenced how I see the world,” Tammy explains. “As a country girl living in the city, I know anywhere I go, I can create community.”
She views Perth as a dynamic, under-appreciated “secret society” of passionate creatives working across theatre, stage, fine art, and craft. Rather than competing, Perth artists support one another—and Tammy is often right at the centre of that support network, pulling people into the fold.
Creativity as Empowerment: The NDIS & Beyond
As an extrovert, Tammy thrives on human connection. That’s why teaching workshops isn’t just a line item in her business—it’s her core passion. She firmly believes that creativity belongs to everyone, regardless of age, background, or ability.
Through her work with the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), schools, and women’s groups, Tammy acts as a facilitator of personal discovery. She works extensively with women who are finding their voices and rebuilding their confidence through tactile creation.
Her approach is completely adaptive. She has taught macramé to visually impaired students, proving that touch and rhythm can transcend sight. When a 14-year-old neurodivergent client decided she didn’t want to do macramé, but wanted to learn origami instead—a medium Tammy had never tried—Tammy didn’t hesitate: “I said, ‘Let’s learn it together!’ And we did.”
For Tammy, it’s never about forcing a rigid syllabus. It’s about meeting someone where they are and giving them the tools to realise: I made this. I am capable.
“YouTube can’t give you feedback. Going to a class with a real artist gives you personalised guidance for how you see and do things. Creativity is a joy we should never lose. We have to hold onto it.”
Living in a Fast-Fashion World: A Call to Action
In an era dominated by mega-corporations and disposable decor from sites like Temu, Tammy offers a passionate plea for how we, as a community, can support local art and keep the human element alive:
Choose People Over Platforms: “Please connect with local artists directly,” Tammy urges. “Work with us to make something tailored to your needs and your budget. We are real people, and every single sale makes us genuinely happy.”
Give Art Room to Breathe: Communities need free exhibition walls and accessible community spaces—not just to sell products, but to expose people to new mediums and inspire them to create in their daily lives.
Invest in Human Guidance: Learn from real practitioners. Tammy has never used a formal macramé pattern in her life; her skills were built through hands-on experience and shared knowledge from other creators.
The Sweet Spot
Today, Tammy has hit what she calls her “sweet spot.” The gruelling hustle years of raising two young children while managing endless marketing, shipping worldwide, and facilitating workshops have paid off.
She has created a life where she can be entirely present for her kids while running a multi-faceted creative business on her own terms. Through school programs, NDIS coaching, private advanced mentoring, and international custom orders, Tammy has proven that being an artist isn’t a pipe dream—it’s a viable, vibrant, and essential vocation.
In a world that constantly pushes us to produce faster, spend cheaper, and fit into pre-designed boxes, Tammy stands as a reminder of what happens when you honour your inner alien, tie your own knots, and build a bigger table for everyone to sit at.
