Jack Mitchell | This is Interior Heaven

Author // Shannon Edwards for Place New Farm

Positioned amongst the great cafes, retailers and salons of the Emporium precinct, Jack Mitchell is a space for you to lose yourself amongst the mounds of eclectic furniture and beautiful interior knick-knacks.

Walking into the store is like being greeted into decorating heaven, with so many styles fitted into their 70 square-meter space there is almost everything to fill the hopes and dreams you have for your home.

Owned and run by Jack Mitchell Southwell, with the help of his auntie Jo Mathers, the pair have an eye for intriguing interiors.

We sat down with Jack & Jo on one of their amazing lounges, nestled amongst funky cushions, where they shared how Jack Mitchell began.

Photo credit: Jack Mitchell

Photo credit: Jack Mitchell

When did you first find a love for interior decorating?

I grew up surrounded by wonderfully decorated homes with my auntie and grandma having great style and a love for interior decorating.

I have special memories of Auntie Jo used to take me around to all the antique stores when I was a little boy.

As a kid I used to changed my bedroom around all of the time – it was the smallest space and all I had to work with was moving my bed from one corner to another, but I loved it.

One birthday I was given the opportunity to completely redo my room. We went to the paint shop, got all new linen, bought a new bed, new desk – it was exciting.

So, really, I guess it’s always been a love and passion of mine.

How did Jack Mitchell begin?

I come from a retail and business background. My great grandfather, Sir Robert Mathers, founded Mathers Shoes, which my grandfather then took over.

After gaining a fair bit of experience working for other people, I thought ‘maybe I can do this myself’, so I took a chance and opened my own first store on Old Cleveland Road in Camp Hill.

I had a lot of family support to open Jack Mitchell, and everyone was really happy and excited for me when I made the jump.

After two years of being in Camp Hill this space his in Emporium became available, we checked it out on Sunday and had the keys to the store on Tuesday – it all moved really quickly so I guess you could say it was meant to be.

It’s a great precinct here as customers can stroll around the precinct, have a drink & a bite to eat before or after they pop in to check out the store.

Now, Jack Mitchell is more than just a store. We have our retail front here which showcases our style, but we also offer personal interior decorating services.

We’ll do a consultation with a client, analyse the space and get a strong understanding of their style.

From there we’ll source a range of products, perfect for them, whether they be from the store or our suppliers.

We also do a lot of styling for events, from dinner parties to big functions and fashion parades.  

Jo, how did you come to working with your nephew?

I was always so happy for Jack and everything that he’s doing.

I remember when Jack got the space he called me and said, “auntie Jo, I’ve just got the keys to my new shop come and have a look.”

That night we sat in the space with a pizza and red wine, planning all that the store could be.

The next day Jack rang me with the proposition to come and work with him. I told him I’d think about it and give him a call the next day… within 20 minutes I was back on the phone saying yes!

We have lots of fun working together.

How would you describe the style here?

We source our products from suppliers from all over the world from Africa, China to Belgium.

The products we stock are items that we would love to own ourselves.

I wouldn’t say we have a specific style; we have a lot of eclectic pieces that have a touch of masculinity to them.

We try really hard to find pieces that are a little different, and of very high quality of course.

We have lots of authentic textiles, taxidermy, handmade bowls from Africa and genuine hand-made skulls which are products that I think we’ll always stock.

What’s your favourite thing in store at the moment?

We’ve just got a lot of African mud cloth in which is a textile made in mud, with patterns dyed using natural plant material.

We’ve also started customising a lot of ottomans and cushions for clients which create unique pieces.

We love our wine barrel lights, currently sitting about the counter, which are made from old wine barrels. So, I guess you could say we’re loving pieces made from unique materials.