Style: Studio Jellyfish
They rock the coolest shoes on South Beach in their fabulous studio, Studio Jellyfish. (We just love the name!) Their shoes are hand-painted, graphic masterpieces that make wearing shoes even more of a fun, fantasy. We talk to the husband and wife team, Courtney and Philip Mason to discover the story behind these delicious and artistic jewels.
What do you call yourselves? Shoe designers, shoe artists?
First, we would like to thank you so much for taking the time to interview us and allow us to be part of your issue.
We hand paint each shoe, handbag, and item of clothing so “artist” might be the best term. But, so much more goes into each design and layout before we start using the brush.
Many concepts start out with pen. The selected thumbnails are carefully illustrated on the computer, then finally printed as reference for the paintings. It takes a bit to get to the final result but it’s worth it.
What made you decide to paint shoes?
This was entirely Courtney’s idea! She had been commissioned to create a “live” illustration in Las Vegas for Hyundai. They asked her to paint designs on a very expensive show car during the SEMA 3-day event. It was very exciting!
On the flight back she had an inspired thought, “I know what we are going to do!” It was really one of those few original ideas.
How did you get started?
We both had successful careers for many years as professional graphic designers in Detroit MI, working on projects for Sony BMG, Motorola, Nokia, Ford, GM to name a few larger accounts. But when the economy took a downturn, we had to make a change. The budgets for high-end advertising were gone.
We made our own job. With Courtney’s new idea, we used our talents and created a company with all the lessons learned from clients. The logo, company branding, social reach are all very intentional and thought through from day one.
You are husband and wife? How did working together happen?
Yes, we had a storybook wedding… simply close your eyes and imagine the best day possible with all your friends and family.
We met one day at art school and began working together on a project that same night. Over the last seven years we have been apart about a total of eight hours. It’s really just easier to collaborate together, the ideas come flying, almost too fast.
What’s it like to be creative together?
Sometimes it’s a simple walk down the block or a drive in the car and one of us will say “How about Chinese food tonight?” and the other will reply “I was just about to say that!”. This happens everyday.
It’s easy for us, we have the same interests and feed from each other’s ideas. We help each other grow.
Where do you look to for ideas and inspiration for your designs?
Of course, we study all the new trends in fashion and color from every media. This helps us stay current. But it our real passion goes back to the love of figure illustration and capturing elements of nature.
Living only a couple blocks from the ocean doesn’t hurt either. The smell of the crisp air, the little lizards in tropical plants everywhere, and all the beauty washed on the sand helps us feel the big picture.
We’ve stayed students and keep discovering everyday. We were those kids in high school that filled their notebooks with drawings and ideas. We’re art nerds. When we see anything from fresh graffiti to an old masterpiece we get really excited and talk about it for the rest of the day.
Can you tell me about a shoe you will never forget?
Wow, there have been so many. Mostly it has been the commissioned items we created for people that meant the most.
Perhaps the best example was the wedding shoes we designed for Lauren. She asked if we could paint a simple pair, but when we called her, we found during the conversation that her relationship could be expressed on the heels. It was their common interests, songs, and love of travel that became the theme of the shoes.
We went so far as to paint their portraits on the sides, really started to feel like we knew each other. Even now a couple years later, we still keep in touch.
What kind of woman do you make your shoes for?
We hope to help women feel confident in themselves and what better place to start than in your walk. When women wear our heels they feel classy, sexy and confident, able to show a bit of individuality that all remarkable women have.
Courtney says it best: As a woman, I felt it was important to give women all around the world an alternative to plain high heels. I have always loved fashion, however I found searching for unique heels to be quite a challenge. I began to think “Why not wear something colorful that makes you feel confident and able to stand out in the crowded sea of bland shoes.”
How did you name your studio Studio Jellyfish?
After dating only a couple months, we took a vacation to Hotel Victor in Miami Beach. We fell deeply in love with the area, the hotel, and mostly each other. There is a jellyfish tank in the lobby.
We’ve used the term “each other” a lot in this interview, but this is really what the company is about, both of us.
Does Studio Jellyfish have a signature design?
We painted a wall mural in our previous shop that was a collaborative summary of our works, it was thirty feet long and twelve feet in height. Although not on a piece of fashion, it stood as a signature for Jellyfish. We use it throughout our marketing material.
Our most successful pieces have been the “High Fashion” line of heels. These are works on very expensive heels by renowned designers (Louboutin, McQueen, D&G, etc) demanding the most concentration because our paint does not come off. No mistakes or its start on another pair… yikes, right? We really feel that these are true artwork and will become a collection of important value.
Who are your personal style icons?
People who inspire us range from: Coco Chanel with her great persistence, Tom Ford’s honesty of form, Lee Alexander McQueen for his perfect line, and Lady Gaga for her relentless expression. There are so many more.
The most important quality we value in style is the passion, you can teach everything but passion.
Why Miami Beach?
When considering locations for our first retail shop we looked at NYC, LA, Chicago, and even Atlanta. But decided that we might be lost in the crowd and take more time to be noticed in the larger cities.
Since everyone in the world at one time or another comes to Miami Beach, we thought the international reach would help us most. And it seems to be working as we now have orders from all sides of the globe.
And it’s really a nice place.
