There’s something interesting about the way motherhood can shift your perspective. With a new rhythm comes the chance to see yourself differently and sometimes, to make room for parts of yourself that have always been there.
For Jiordan, that meant getting her hands dirty, experimenting with materials and finding a new outlet for her creativity. What began as a personal project gradually grew into something more.
The creative force behind Melbourne-based lighting studio Mash Studios, Jiordan Tolli has always been drawn to making. After having her two children, that instinct became something she wanted to return to, not necessarily with a business in mind, but simply because she wanted something that was hers.
Speaking with paper mâché, Jiordan reflects on how that instinct became a much-needed outlet during the early days of motherhood.
“I’ve always been a creative person, but after having my two kids I felt like I needed something that was just mine again,” Jiordan tells us. “I started making pendant lights at home when my daughter was a couple of months old as a way to use my hands. I was feeling pretty burnt out and needed a creative outlet.”
There was no grand plan to launch a lighting studio. In fact, the beginning of Mash Studios was much more casual than that. Her husband encouraged her to have a little ‘crafternoon’ and see what happened. So she did. She spent weeks experimenting with different materials, shapes and ideas, gradually discovering a medium she had fallen quite naturally in love with.
“The more I made, the more I realised how much I loved designing lighting. I loved that it could be functional but also feel like a piece of art, a special, forever piece that also warms a space.” She says. That idea of lighting as both function and art sits at the heart of Mash Studios.
Rather than simply being something that fills a room with light, Jiordan’s pieces are designed to become part of the room itself. Sculptural, tactile and full of personality, they bring another layer to an interior, whether hanging above a dining table, sitting within a quiet corner or becoming the feature of a space.
There is something particularly lovely about the fact that Mash Studios began through experimentation. In a creative world that can often feel obsessed with having a clear vision, a defined aesthetic and a perfectly formed brand from day one, Jiordan’s approach was much more instinctive. She made something, then another, and allowed the process to tell her what came next.
“It wasn’t long before I started thinking maybe this could become something more, so I took the leap and got everything ready to launch. Mash Studios was born in August 2025.” She reflects.
Looking back, she says there wasn’t one defining moment that turned a creative outlet into a business. Instead, it was a collection of small moments that gradually built into something more.
“It was lots of little moments that slowly built into a business, and I’m really glad I followed that feeling.”
That instinct is part of what makes Mash Studios feel so personal. Jiordan describes herself as someone who embraces a little chaos and the unexpected, and there is a sense of that philosophy within the way Mash Studios has evolved. It hasn’t been about following a rigid path, but allowing ideas to develop and trusting that the right ones will stick.
For a creative person, that freedom can be important. Creativity rarely moves in a perfectly straight line. There are experiments that don’t work, materials that behave differently to what you imagined, ideas that arrive at the wrong time and happy accidents that end up becoming something much better than the original plan.
In many ways, motherhood asks for the same kind of flexibility. To let go of the plan and see where things take you.
Motherhood has a way of changing the rhythm of everyday life. For Jiordan, that shift has also changed the way she approaches creativity. Rather than waiting for the perfect conditions to create, she has found a way to make it part of the rhythm of everyday life.
While motherhood may have brought her back to making, it hasn’t defined the work. Mash Studios is very much a reflection of Jiordan’s creative eye, her love of materials and her interest in creating pieces that feel at home within a space.
There is a quiet confidence to that approach. The lamps don’t need to shout to become a feature. Their appeal comes through shape, texture and the way they interact with their surroundings. They are pieces designed to be lived with, rather than simply looked at.
That was always part of the attraction for Jiordan. She wanted to create something functional, but something that could also hold its own as an object of art. A light that changes the atmosphere of a room while still feeling like a considered piece in its own right.
Introducing Jiordan’s Latest Collection, Whirl.
Our personal fav (if we had to pick) as we need them all – Sway
“ I wanted to create something that felt alive even when it was completely still. The long fringe gives it this beautiful softness and exaggeration, and then as people move around it, or even with the slightest breeze, it takes on a life of its own. I especially love the way the light catches and dances through the fringe, casting these beautiful shifting shadows around the piece. I’ve always loved tassels and fringe. There’s something a little nostalgic and theatrical about them that I’m really drawn to, and I love how they can instantly make something feel a bit more fun. Sway definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s playful, a little dramatic and has so much personality.” Jiordan
We are constantly surrounded by stories of people turning every passion into a side hustle, every hobby into a brand and every creative outlet into an income stream. It can make creativity feel as though it always needs to be productive. But Mash Studios began before there was any guarantee that it would become anything at all.
There was simply the desire to make something beautiful and the business followed.
Now, from her Melbourne studio, Jiordan is continuing to develop Mash Studios and its collection of sculptural lighting, building a brand that feels deeply connected to the way she works: tactile, curious, imperfect and open to what comes next.
Perhaps that is the real beauty in Mash Studios beginnings. It wasn’t born from having everything figured out. It came from following a feeling and being willing to see where it might lead.
Motherhood may have been the catalyst, but creativity was always there.
Sometimes, the best things begin when we stop trying to control exactly what comes next and simply make something.
Written by Bailey Doyle.
