Jeremy Wortsman, graphic designer and founding director of The Jacky Winter Group, an agency for Australian illustrators, talks to Penny Modra for M.E...

What’s your life like at the moment?

I have about twelve different jobs, but I mainly split my day between two things. The Jacky Winter Group is an illustration agency that I founded in 2007 which represents contemporary Australian illustrators.

I have 32 artists on the books and mainly promote and manage commercial illustration jobs for them in the fields of advertising, design, and publishing.

I am also one half of Chase & Galley, a design practice that I co-founded with Stuart Geddes (whom I also worked on Is Not Magazine with).

And you've just started a gallery? Tell us about that.

Lamington Drive is a gallery space located in our new offices that exclusively shows Jacky Winter artists. As there is very little training for commercial artists available in the country, our artists occupy a very grey area between art and commerce.

We do shows every month that try to explore the intersection between commercial and fine art, which is something I am very interested in. The space itself is fitted out with removable cardboard walls and very craft-like furnishings, so in some ways the gallery’s design addresses this intersection too.

How did you get started?

I was born and raised in New York, where I did a pre-college course in Graphic Design at Parsons School of Design and things sort of took off from there in terms of my design career. Having a head start was definitely a big help.

To make a very long story short, I ended up in Australia post 9/11 with nothing but a backpack and a tourist visa, but immediately fell in love with the country, especially Melbourne. I always knew there was a market here for the illustration agency, and it took seven years and loads of retouching dog food labels, but I'm quite happy where I am now and will be applying for citizenship in five months.

Describe the part of Melbourne you're in (what's the Lamington Drive neighbourhood like?)

Lamington Drive is located in Fitzroy, specifically in the Gertrude Street arts precinct. We are very lucky to be in one of the best areas for contemporary galleries and other like-minded business. Gertrude Street stretches from Fitzroy to Collingwood, and has a very interesting mixes of cultures.

Like most other arts precincts, it is pretty heavily gentrified, especially considering that it was basically a no-go zone ten to fifteen years ago due to violence and crime, but I still think that it has maintained its reputation as one of the most vibrant and interesting strips of culture in the city.

What inspires you about Melbourne?

Mostly how young it is. And there’s a feeling in the air that you can still do anything you want and have a fair go at it, even without loads of money behind you. Unlike New York where things are so cramped and the competition is so fierce, in Melbourne you just need some talent and/or a good idea, plus some perseverance, and you're set!

Who are some of your favourite local or international illustrators?

Locally, I would be hard pressed to find illustrators outside our own group that are my favourites. There are definitely some up-and-comers such as Caitlin Shearer – I look forward to seeing how her work develops.

UK agencies such as Dutch Uncle, Big Active, and Heart have rosters of artists that I look up to. In the US, there would be Gerald & Cullen Rapp. Just seeing the standard of work that their artists bring to the table is an inspiration, both in terms of concept and technical execution.

Best night out in Melbourne and the outfit you would wear?

Apparently Melbourne has a bit of a cocooning problem, which I must assume partial responsibility for.

My best night out would be a trip to Readings on Lygon Street in whatever black clothes I had available, and then snuggling up to a good book at home, making it a good night in.