The birth of Instagram had a profound effect on many people around the globe, non more so than artist Dina Broadhurst, whose hobbies of creating her stunning collage imagery suddenly catapulted her into the international spotlight.

Broadhurst's childhood love of photography and collage, which she admits may well have been down to a ‘therapeutic release’ stayed with her throughout her studies and career which has seen her specialise in an eclectic array of areas from design and advertising through to make-up artist and fashion PR.

“I obviously studied art at school and went on to university to study advertising and design and learned about programmes like Photoshop, Quark and Illustrator, which enhanced my creative interest definitely,” says Broadhurst. “But that stylised design and fashion element remains a common theme to my interests."

A lover of interior design and with her head in auction house books as a ‘fun hobby’ Broadhurst was also interested in creating her own artwork on the side and having read at some length about art as a business and how artists would carve a career from running Editions and Series, her own time was about to come…thanks to Instagram.

“I forget how old Instagram is, but I guess it was around 7 years ago that posts of my artwork were gaining the interests of others, so much so that I was being asked if they could be sold,” says Broadhurst.

Using Instagram as a completely organic place to post her creations allowed Broadhurst to think of a new way of running an art business that wasn’t based around her own selections of pieces that she thought would work best, but an unprecedented ‘open-field’ to put out there whatever she wanted.

“Most certainly I prefer to work like this as my perception of what people might like or want is not always going to be accurate, especially with regards to size,” she says “It’s amazing to be able to create anything I feel without the pressure to conform for a particular show or gallery or to sell. I can put it all out there and hear what other people are drawn to, or connect with. Most of my work is custom made to size, part of a collaboration/partnership or commissioned by an individual.”

And Broadhurst is not short of big names that have asked to work with her…

“I have done many shows with Westfield shopping mall over the years, which is great because my works can be showcased in a large format over different materials with such creative freedom, then if someone wants to translate that to a piece for their home, I can create it in a smaller version as a fine art edition.” she adds.

Broadhurst has also worked with the likes of Converse and Wedgwood - a brand she has loved since childhood - and more recently fashion brands Prada and Valentino as well as local label Country Road Australia.

Specialising in contemporary advertising-centric photography that then takes a unique twist through collage, Broadhurst’s work has often involved nudes and in particular naked women, that she says can sometimes cause a few problems.

“It’s funny, I’ve had pieces that people have sold because they’ve now got a girlfriend and the nude image on the wall has to go. My home is covered in these images, but it can be uncomfortable for some” she admits.

Living in Sydney with her 14 year-old son and property developer boyfriend is ideal for Broadhurst, who also utilises her home space as a studio. “It’s great, my boyfriend often comes home with materials that have been cast aside and I will use them for my pieces, like broken mirrors.”

Admitting that she still finds purchases of her work online ’surreal’ sometimes - Broadhurst is as honest as they come with a passion that can be felt immediately when speaking to her. “It is weird, sometimes I can see my artwork being bought from countries I just wouldn’t presume knew about me,” she says “If I’m showcasing a project somewhere, such as New Zealand, which I am at the moment or LA, that can spike sales, but somewhere like China, that doesn’t have Instagram is unusual, I always want to know how people found out about me,” she adds.

With regards to LIMITATO, we will first see the Broadhurst collection on sale within the A/W20 collection, something the artist is excited to be part of. “We have been speaking for some time, and when I realised the passion and the names involved in the brand and their collections, it became a no brainer.I think the product itself is wonderful,” Broadhurst concludes.