ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
From Clay to Letterbox: Meet Whitsundays Artist Haley Vogel
Artist, former high school teacher, business owner and mum of three, Haley Vogel has a way of turning creativity into something people can hold in their hands. Her work is inspired by the natural world around her in the Whitsundays, and these days it’s most likely to arrive in a child’s letterbox.
Artistic Background
Creativity has been part of Haley’s life for as long as she can remember. She studied a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Teaching, specialising in high school visual arts, with a minor in communications and graphic design.
She then spent four years teaching Marine science, media arts, visual arts and a range of other subjects at high schools in Brisbane before returning home to the Whitsundays.
Today, Haley runs her creative businesses from home while raising and homeschooling her three young children, keeping art and imagination at the centre of a very full life.
Bush Buddies Mail Club
Haley’s main creative focus is Bush Buddies Mail Club, a monthly snail mail subscription that brings a little 90’s nostalgia to children’s letterboxes. Each month, kids receive letters from an Australian animal character, along with stickers, collectibles and surprise goodies.
Bush Buddies draws on everything Haley loves: illustration, graphic design, storytelling and education, all wrapped up in a celebration of Australia’s unique wildlife. It’s a project that brings together her teaching background and her love of the natural world, and it gives children the simple joy of getting something special in the mail.
A Ceramics Chapter
Before Bush Buddies took centre stage, clay was a big part of Haley’s creative practice. Her handbuilt ceramics (with the occasional wheel-thrown piece) were inspired by the ocean and islands of the Whitsundays.
Her philosophy is simple: pottery shouldn't just be useful, it should also be a beautiful addition to the home.
Each handcrafted piece reflects the appeal of ceramics, where form, texture and function come together to create something individual.
While life with three little ones means clay is on hold for now, Haley hasn’t ruled out returning to it one day, hopefully soon.
Find Haley’s Pottery at the Gallery
We’re delighted to have a selection of Haley’s handcrafted ceramics available at the Community Art Gallery in Proserpine. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind reminder of the Whitsundays coastline that inspired it, and a lovely way to take home a little local handmade
Haley also stocks Bush Buddies Past Adventures at the Community Art Gallery, so little ones (and big ones) can pick up earlier editions of the club in person.
If you’d like each new adventure delivered straight to your letterbox, you can subscribe to Bush Buddies Mail Club on Haley’s website: www.waratahstudio.com
Supporting local artists like Haley means supporting the creativity, skills and small businesses that make our Whitsundays arts community so vibrant!
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