Despite growing up in Coffs Harbour, Aly Pearson was never much of a beach girl. Instead, she’d stroll across the road from her childhood home to the Creek Walk. It was here she felt at peace; grounded. It was here she had permission to slow down, to softly dwell in the light of dusk and simply be.

Aly Pearson, a contemporary illustrator, graphic designer and educator, always knew she was lucky to call Coffs home – and today, after a number of adventures away, she’s happy to ground herself on Gumbaynggirr land once more.

Here’s how her travels from Coffs Harbour, around the world and home again, unfolded…

1997–2002 – Coffs Harbour High School, Coffs Harbour

Aly is the first to admit she wasn’t overly academic or sporty at school – but she did excel at art.

“Choosing Visual Arts as an elective in high school, where we had set projects and the HSC body of work to focus on, made art a more serious option for me. I started collecting pieces of design I was drawn to – like postcards, snippets from my favourite magazines and organic, hand drawn elements. I especially loved pairing these with sharp, clean designs and lots of white space.”

2003 – Blacktown to The Rocks, Sydney

A couple of years out of high school, Aly completed a business admin apprenticeship, moved into an apartment with her sister in Sydney and took the first office job she could get.

“A year in I realised I was working for a nothing job – I felt like I had so much more to give, to learn, to live! My sister asked if I’d heard of graphic design, she said her friend was studying it and makes cool shit on the computer for a job. I looked it up and holy moly – this was exactly what I wanted to do.”

2005 – Commercial Arts Training College, The Rocks

There was no time to waste. Aly began studying graphic design at the Commercial Arts Training College – she describes it as one of the most amazing times of her life.

“Life was good – catching the train to The Rocks each day, learning from young creatives in a small class of 10 people who were either similar to me or even stranger and better. It was incredible. After never thinking I’d go back to studying, the environment there was relaxed, positive and progressive. I finally learnt how to use my drawings with those clean, contemporary elements and white space, too.”

2011 – Fitzroy, Melbourne (via Coffs Harbour)

Aly’s a straight shooter – she’d been through a breakup and needed a reset. So she snuck back home to Coffs to take a breath, before setting off to Melbourne for something bigger and better.

“I’m pretty sure this was my quarter life crisis. It took me a couple of years to find my groove in Melbourne, but I bloody love that city and lived in Fitzroy, where all my favourite things were at my fingertips. I was selling my prints at some super trendy shops and had a good run of some of the big markets. But typical me, I wanted more. I was about to turn 30 and had always wanted to take advantage of my access to a UK Ancestry Visa.”

2014 – London, United Kingdom (via Edinburgh, Scotland)

Seeya Melbourne, hello Edinburgh. With no real plan, Aly arrived in Ye Olde Edinburgh to discover there were fewer creative opportunities than she’d realised. After a fairly significant freakout and a Facetime chat with her folks, she redirected her journey to London.

“To be honest, becoming another Aussie in London was the last thing I wanted to do. But I landed a job, a place to live and started my life from scratch… again. Only this time, I wasn’t as patient. If I didn’t like something, I changed it. I was in my thirties now and wasn’t wasting time with shitty housemates or jobs – it was that ballsy frame of mind that led me to apply for a part-time graphic design teaching role at Shillington College. To my surprise, I was offered the role full-time. The next two years were a blur of awesome experiences, extreme stress and inevitably, longing for home.”

2016 – Brunswick, Melbourne… again (via Coffs Harbour… again)

It was Christmas time when Aly’s feet landed on Coffs soil. She lapped up the downtime, took a chance to breathe and considered her next move. She wasn’t ready to give up her city life just yet, so before long, she returned to Melbourne.

“I still felt I needed to be in a city to be a respected creative – I know that’s not true now, but I wasn’t ready to admit it then. I took a part-time teaching role at Shillington, but soon found the Melbourne life I’d left behind years before was no longer there. Friends had moved on, the constant public transport and anonymity of city life stood out like a sore thumb and cemented my craving to finally head back to my hometown. I craved the down-to-earth pace of life, the opportunity to be close to my parents and friends and, ultimately, to feel seen as part of the Coffs Harbour community.”

2018 – Alykat Creative Gallery & Studio, Coffs Harbour

Aly’s decision to move home – for real this time – was an easy and exciting one. She wanted to become an active member of the local creative community, so when she saw a little non-profit gallery in a laneway looking for volunteers, she signed up.

““Twelve months later, after building a creative hub as a volunteer, lockdowns and the pandemic started. There’s nothing quite like the fear for your life and some downtime to feel inspired to make the most of an opportunity, so I went out on my own to re-open as Alykat Creative Gallery & Studio. I’ll never forget the crowds turning up to the larger-than-life exhibition openings flowing into the laneway, and the glow of excitement on people’s faces as they entered the space I was so proud to call my own. It’s safe to say my cup was full. Over-flowing in-fact, which eventually turned into burn-out right as cost of living also sky-rocketed. So in early 2023 it was with a heavy heart I closed Alykat Gallery & Studio. I continue to create and sell my artwork online and at other stores, but to this day I still get the rush to go and do it all again – and I have been known to look at a shop vacancy or two. So who knows what the future will bring in the whimsical world of Alykat.”

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