At the core of Accent Decor are design-forward products, crafted in partnership with internal designers, artist partners and expert artisans across the globe, offered at attainable prices. Our mission is to create beautiful products for beautiful businesses.

Season after season, our exclusive collection of wall accents and wholesale home accents has expanded, delivering on our customer’s requests for unique and trend-led options. Each design is thoughtfully created with artisanal elements in mind, resulting in hand-made finished products. Each piece features unique elements ranging from embroidery placement or tonal color differences.

Enter Toronto-based artist, writer and designer, Jessica Hiemstra. From creating the best-selling Eric + Eloise Collection, to the popular Parable Collection, and endless vases and decor products in-between, Jessica’s whimsical style has gained a strong following with new and long-time Accent Decor customers alike. We caught up with Jessica to get her take on the creative process that unfolded whilst creating her latest assortment of wall art.

You have a deep appreciation for nature and it pours into everything you create. How does nature impact your work and where else do you seek inspiration?

The natural world never ceases to amaze me. I make sure I walk every day. There’s a Latin expression, solvitur ambulando, which means “solve it by walking.” Sometimes we just need to be in the world, to move in it. By walking within our environment we invite the unexpected.

I love visiting galleries and thrift shops for inspiration. Thrift shops are full of forlorn objects people once loved  – true treasure troves! To keep my work fresh I spend time doing what I love – being outside, and being with art.

I also hope to put joy and comfort into the world. Being aware of the pain of others is important to me. If I grow through being compassionate and observant then perhaps my work will play a small part in our healing. Obviously, a vase or a landscape painting can’t tackle genocide, racism, misogyny, habitat loss and our climate crisis. But perhaps it can inspire, in its own small way, more love for each other and our planet. For me, being inspired comes down to giving time to friendship, family, walking, reading and eating. If I’m right in the world, I can see clearly while taking risks and creating new things.

Your Hatha Wall Art is beautifully executed – abstract and finished with embroidered details. Can you share your inspiration source?

In some of the hardest moments of the pandemic, many people found sanctuary in nature – not just being outside, but bringing the outside in! Houseplants gave people so much joy. These pieces touch on the therapy of the potted plant. They bring in pattern, warmth, and a bit of bouncy joy. I was also inspired by a young person named Gillian Peterson (Gigi), who is one half of the GiGi and Rho Book Club and a design blogger. The artwork was inspired by her adventures in Spain, which she shared online). She’s young, vibrant and fun. I love the photos she posts when she tours the bi-annual gift markets – she reminds me of what joie de vivre really is. I brought all that background exuberance into the Hatha Collection and I think it shows!

The Andalusia Collection seems to pair nicely with the Parable Tableop Collection. Are those stories connected?

Yes, there is parity between the two! There’s play, a nice palette (I love purple and red together) and a world of insects and birds. I wanted to integrate insect-eating birds, swooping birds, and many other fragile, smaller winged creatures into the design. Successful artwork always has a story, even if we don’t know it.  The story gives the work depth – a depth the viewer feels, even if they don’t see it straight away.

What’s been the most memorable wall art you’ve created so far?

I’ve created many great designs, but not everything makes the final cut. The Cordillera Wall Art did and I’m delighted with its final state! Natasha Pantelides, Accent Decor’s VP of Design, encouraged me to create something unexpected with the palette, and I love how the sky color is a total surprise but feels just right. I imagined myself in the depicted hills and I like how the stitching emulates painting. The Cordillera’s artfulness is striking. I wish I could see all the little corners people have it hung in.

Some of your recent wall art designs are executed with embroidery. Does the artfulness of embroidery change your design approach?

I think that our foray into embroidered art is unique and sets our art apart.  Embroidery taps into a vast history of human creation – across cultures and time. It also lends itself to mass production in a way that traditional mass-produced wall art doesn’t; it retains texture, warmth, and has the hand of a new maker in it. Simply because of the material, it’s always original. It’s also craft  –  and while I’m not big on distinctions, this is an important one. Embroidered wall art isn’t trying to be something it isn’t and I love what’s possible in this form. It invigorates me as an artist and I’m already dreaming up a picture book using this technique!

Where is the art work produced and what part of the process fascinates you most?

Nearly all of Accent Decor’s wall art is hand-made in India.  The framed embroidered designs are custom so the fabrics and embroidery elements are dyed in batches. The local artisians screen print my artwork on ground fabric. Afterwards, they begin their process of embroidery. The embroidery is done by machine, however it is hand-led. There is a person guiding the artwork manually through the machine to ensure the detail placements are in the intended spots. I love knowing their watchful eyes and hands are guiding the embroidery and honoring the intended artwork.

We’re intrigued with an artist’s environment  – it’s where beautiful designs manifest! Describe your workspace and your must-have essentials.

So far, 2024 has been an intense year! I’d like to say that my studio is filled with beautiful little twigs and flowers, drawings pinned up on the wall, and sweet music. The truth is, I’ve moved a few times and my workspace is in flux. Every Zoom call I have makes me wonder if people think I’m trapped in a basement!? We can idealize an artist’s life, but mine is a bit ship-wrecked right now. I’m looking forward to being more settled again soon, but for now, I make sure I have water at my elbow and a window to look out and fresh flowers nearby.

Keep up with Jessica Hiemstra @Jessicahiemstradesigns or sign-up for her monthly newsletter for updates on her shop, art and more. Read about Jessica’s recent Accent Decor projects including the Parable Collection and the newest additions to the best selling E+E Collection.

To shop Accent Decor’s full assortment of wholesale decor and wholesale home accents, including all new flower, plant and home products, visit accentdecor.com.

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