This month's Curious Person is Jessie Short- a creative and owner of Stash World, a sticker and specialty stationery store. We explored the theme of Collector of Collections over on our collaborative Pinterest board taking inspiration from curated objects- from beloved trinkets all the way to goblin craft hordes.
About You
Introduce yourself!
Hi! I’m Jessie. I struggle with labeling myself as any one thing but it falls somewhere between marketer, retailer and designer. I love consumer behaviour and I love good design (particularly in the form of stationery and physical media).
I run a stationery brand and store called Stash World here in Meanjin / Brisbane, Australia with a small team of fellow passionate creatives. I am also the mother of two very adorable cats.
Did you always know you wanted to do what you do? What was the journey like to get to where you are now?
I’m a fourth-generation small business owner - retail and consumer behaviour was treated like a sport at the family dinner table. My parents met at art college and ran creative businesses in a regional town throughout my childhood. We lived above our art gallery when I was little, and I spent school holidays pricing art supplies, helping with exhibitions, and tagging along to community events.
I was a crafty kid with unlimited supplies and a mum who greatly nurtured creativity. But as a teen, I avoided any form of traditional art - when something is so central to your life, it’s easy to fear not being “good enough.” I worked at Officeworks through high school, then studied Marketing and Media at uni.
I ended up in advertising and marketing roles for tech start-ups - a dream mix of consumer behaviour, tech, and creativity. But stationery (and a hereditary desire to “do my own thing”) always pulled me back. In 2017, I stumbled across the handmade sticker scene and started making my own for fun. That little side hustle after work, became a hands-on way to explore e-commerce, community building, and everything I’d grown up around.
One thing led to another, and that Etsy shop grew into something bigger - allowing me to support other artists, share creative work, and finally back myself too. From the outside, it might seem like an odd path, but those who know me say it would be weirder if I *wasn’t* running a store. It was never the plan, but it was always inevitable.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I’ve been lucky enough to build a business doing what I love, so as cheesy as it sounds - I genuinely enjoy working in my spare time. Even when I’m “off,” I’m often at local art markets discovering new creatives, op shopping for vintage stationery, or journaling and collaging with our Stash World community on Discord.
Outside of that, pop music is my other true love. I’m always up for a live gig or theatre show, curating playlists, or being a bit of a nuisance at my local record store - Glitter Records.
I also get a lot of joy from collecting physical media and rescuing old tech or stationery to give it a second life - it’s a mix of nostalgia, creativity, and sustainability that really fuels my weekends.
The Pinterest Board
See the board we collaborated on here.
Tell us what you think of the board theme- why does it inspire or interest you and what’s your connection to the theme?
Collector of Collections was my Instagram bio back in the day - it’s the only way I can define (or justify) all the random treasures in my home and my love for memory keeping. I started collecting playing cards when I was about six, moved on to vinyl as a teenager, and now as an adult I’ve somehow ended up with everything from vintage pencil sharpeners to bumper stickers. Not to mention a love for junk journaling, which is the greatest paper ephemera collecting enabler of them all!
These objects are like little time capsules - tiny reflections of their era through design and purpose. Collections are a way for us maximalist types to celebrate our love of things, justify our op shop purchases, and bring a little order and meaning to the chaos in our drawers and cupboards.
If you could collaborate with anyone—living or historical—on a project around this theme, who would it be and why?
A bit of a niche one, but New York Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica (who hosts the New York Times Popcast) often speaks of objects from his storage unit of band / music memorabilia. He has some really incredible gems in there and it would be amazing to see them visually documented.
What’s the absolute, non-negotiable piece of content you pinned that people must see?
Definitely the American Sign Museum in New York - there’s a great video by documentary maker Joshua Charow that’s well worth a watch. Vintage signage is such an important piece of history to preserve for future generations to be inspired by.
Closing Curios
Beverage of choice?
Mountain Dew! Such an underrated soft drink..
Otherwise I also love a good peppermint tea (a green theme perhaps?)
Favourite recent find (could be a book, tv show, website, tiktok account)?
I really enjoyed Adolescence on Netflix - definitely on the heavier side, but so essential.
For something a bit more fun, I’ve been obsessed with estate sale hauls on TikTok lately. The US seems to have an amazing culture around estate sales and deadstock stores - it brings me equal parts joy and jealousy. Some of my favourite creators in this space are @peachy.film and @nostalgia_replay.
Where would you visit in a time machine? And Why?
Ooooh… as much as we romanticise the past, I’d rather keep it that way - through whimsical, rose-coloured glasses (rather than face its far less charming realities).
So I’d head to the future. It might depress me, but I can’t resist a bit of trend forecasting. I’d love to see what’s trending 10 years from now - it's my own slightly twisted version of knowing the lottery numbers.
Favourite ever thrifted find?
Honestly, it’s probably whenever I stumble across a big stash of deadstock stickers from the ’90s or early 2000s. Our customers love them, and it makes me so happy knowing they’re going to good homes where they’ll actually be used and adored - instead of ending up in landfill. But a close second would be a magazine and book collection I picked up from a retired graphic designer, packed with Japanese design mags from the ’70s–’90s. Total treasure trove for journaling and inspiration.
Last niche interest you dived deeply on?
Lately, I’ve been getting into vintage price tags. It started while hanging out at my mate’s record store - there’s so much hidden history in old price tags, especially on records. They often reference stores that no longer exist, places that were once key parts of the local music scene, now remembered only through the tiny remnants of their branding on these old records. I've started photographing them in my travels to one day turn into a digital archive.
What ridiculous item is on your wishlist that you want to buy but absolutely do not need?
I want a ridiculously heavy, old sticky tape dispenser - the kind that almost needs two people to lift it because it’s so solid. They just don’t make sticky tape dispensers like they used to.
Stay in Touch
You can find Jessie and Stash World on Instagram and on their website.
