Lots of people like Josh Jessup and Matt Moss’s style. A Tiktok audience of more than 846,000 – plus another 639,000 on Instagram – follow the Aussie design duo for home décor inspiration and DIYs, plus a chance to ogle their latest second-hand finds.
One of those people is Lewis Mahady, founder of Youtopian Home – a Melbourne homewares label producing luxe doonas and recycled cotton throw blankets. A few months ago he “cold-emailed [Moss and Jessup] not really expecting them to get back to me”.
But they did, and after some brainstorming sessions (and “lots of delicious food and wine consumed over ‘meetings’”) the Youtopian Home X Josh and Matt woven throw blanket was conceived – a hand-drawn galaxy of stars in sturdy jacquard weave, navy-on-pink on one side and pink-on-navy on the other. “There were several iterations and samples before we came to the final design, and we are all really happy with [it],” Mahady says.
“Our personal love and interest in space inspired this throw design,” Moss tells Broadsheet. “We began thinking about this project around the same time the first James Webb Space Telescope pictures were being released, and that sense of awe and wonder for the universe guided our throw design.”
The motif is a little more streamlined than the couple’s regular maximalist style, but those are the limits of reversible textile design, Jessup explains.
“It was a bit of a challenge as we’re used to a ‘more is more’ approach and putting every possible colour into our designs. But with this project we had to simplify the colour palette and design while still making it a fun and unique piece.”
Jessup and Moss are in the process of relaunching Josh and Matt Design – their label making fun decor and accessories for the home – so the collab is a bit of a celebration of what’s to come.
“Our favourite feature of the design is how up close it would appear to be randomly placed dots and symbols, and it’s not until you take a step back it reveals its true nature – a portal into the universe,” Moss says.
“The design overall is just a smoosh-together of all three of our brains,” Mahady laughs. “We love what we have created, so we are hoping others do, too.”
The Youtopian Home founder is, of course, a big proponent of throw blankets, and there are plenty more artist-designed pieces on his site. “Honestly, they are extremely versatile and can be used for so many things,” he says. “I personally have them scattered all over the house: on my bed, couches, one hanging on the wall. I also use them for picnics, going to the beach, and also as a tablecloth! You can never have too many!”
The Youtopian Home X Josh and Matt woven throw blanket ($250) is made in a limited edition of 100 and is available online Sunday August 13 from 10am AEST.
youtopianhome.com.au
@youtopianhome
joshandmattdesign.com
Instagram @joshandmattdesign
Tiktok @joshandmattdesign
