‘Grab It With Both Hands’: Designer Emma Hayes On The Inspiration Behind Her Gap Year In Malta

Designer Emma Hayes has made a bold move – shifting her family halfway across the world to Malta. She talks to Leanne Moore about the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the impact it’s made on her life and creativity.

Emma Hayes likes to take risks. Calculated risks.

After spending the past 14 years creating an internationally sought-after wallpaper and textile brand, it would have been easy to sit back and enjoy her success.

Instead, seven months ago, she chose to chase a dream.

The designer and her partner Johnny Bruce uprooted their sons from a comfortable lifestyle in Auckland’s leafy suburbs to live on a rocky archipelago between Italy and the North African coast. Malta to be precise.

Full disclosure: The exact location of Malta was a bit of a mystery to me before this interview.

When I shared this with Emma, she had a similar response: “We didn’t know much about it either,” she says during a Zoom call from the other side of the world.

“But it’s been an amazing opportunity. It would have been a lot easier to have just gone on a holiday,” she laughs, “but it’s definitely been worth it.”

They wanted to take their 10-year-old triplet sons, Quinn, Louie, and Remi on an adventure, somewhere they could experience a wondrous new world of unexpected treasures at every turn.

“When the boys were little we talked about moving overseas before they started intermediate school but it always seemed like a pipe dream. Then time flew and we realised we needed to go, otherwise we were going to miss the opportunity. So we chose to jump in and do it,” says Emma.

“We also wanted to go before the teenage years, when our boys don’t want to hang out with us anymore! This year marks our sons’ final year of primary school.

“If I were my mother, this would have unexpectedly been the last year of my life. That thought made us ask – how do we want to live this year? The answer led us here.”

They left behind a bungalow and a big backyard in Auckland, within walking distance of Cornwall Park’s sprawling 270ha.

In Malta, their rented apartment has no backyard, nor is there a park where the boys can let off steam kicking a ball around. Instead, they have a view of a historic fort on Manoel Island, between their home in Sliema and the capital, Valletta.

“One of the biggest challenges for the boys has been the lack of green fields and a backyard. During summer, they were able to swim from the rocky foreshore or at one of the sandy beaches, but over winter they have missed having that play space,” says Emma.

What Malta lacks in open green fields is made up for by its fascinating past; it’s a place where there is history around every corner.

Stepping away from her Auckland-based studio hasn’t meant Emma has stopped working. Her new environment has given her an opportunity to explore different tones and forms in her work, drawing inspiration from her surroundings to create new palettes and patterns.

With a background in fine arts, Emma executes her designs by freehand, creating organic shapes and painterly strokes that are the basis for her atmospheric and ephemeral wallpaper and textile collections.

“When we first arrived in Malta, it was autumn and there was that low, warm light. It was very scenic and incredibly inspiring, with a totally different colour palette from home. Very golden,” she says.

While she’s been away, Emma has come up with a new design, due for release soon: Stratum is an exploration of calm but unique colourways.

“We’ve done some very light, warm tones. It has a gentle cloud pattern on the horizon, then it ombres into a change of tone. The colour aspect is influenced by my time in Malta, but it’s more of a feeling than a literal interpretation.”

The decision to take the leap and move overseas was driven by her past.

“My mum died when I was 17,” says Emma. “That had a massive impact on me. She was fit and healthy, before being suddenly diagnosed with cancer.

“She died six months after it was discovered and four days after a terminal diagnosis. It was two days after her 48th birthday. I’ll be 48 in September.”

At the time, Emma was in her final year at high school, but it was difficult for her to concentrate on exams. It was a tough period.

“The last thing I felt like was school or sitting bursary. Back then, there wasn’t the same knowledge or focus on mental health. Family, friends and routine kept me going.”

Further challenges followed. Soon after the loss of her mother, she faced the death of both her grandmother (her mum’s mother) and her uncle (mother’s brother), all to cancer.

In 2018, Emma’s sister Sacha, who had Down’s syndrome, died. “She had a great life but had her health battles near the end,” explains Emma.

“It taught me to appreciate the small things. There have been many times when I’ve wished for a life where nothing dramatic happens. But the overall lesson I got was that if an opportunity presents itself, you have to grab it with both hands because you might not get another chance.”

As the triplets became more independent, a window emerged for that longed-for family time overseas.

“We knew we would regret it if we didn’t go. I have always valued travel and the learnings it brings.”

As well as getting a taste of a culture so different from their own, the overseas experience has allowed the boys to see New Zealand from afar and that has its upside, too.

“I think it’s taught them to appreciate what they have at home, and the friends and community they have around them there.”

When the boys first arrived at the local school, they were the only students who did not speak another language. Fortunately, the teaching language in Maltese schools is mostly English.

“Each of them had a different experience at school and has adjusted to it in a different way. The boys do get on really well and I was comforted by the fact that they had each other.

“It has thrown them together more than ever because they have not had their usual friends around to break up the different dynamics.”

While on the island, the triplets began speaking Maltese.

“It’s been great immersing them in local culture. It’s been really interesting being on a small island, where there is a lot of focus on festivals and faith, and seeing how different people live their lives,” she says.

“It’s been fascinating learning about the history,” Emma adds, noting the strategic role the island has played in many wars – most recently World War II, when it served as a vital base for Allied troops in the Mediterranean.

Its geographical location has attracted many different cultures over the years, and modern-day Malta is a migrant melting pot.

“It’s reasonably well set up for foreigners to come and work. The people that we spoke to in Malta when we were doing our research seemed really welcoming and helpful,” she says.

“Most people here speak English. That’s made relocating here easier, because there isn’t a language barrier.”

Emma has set up a home office at the apartment in Malta, working remotely and keeping communication with her team in New Zealand and sales partners and logistics bases in the United States. “We’ve set the business up so it doesn’t matter where we are in the world, we can stay in touch.”

Emma is using Malta as a base to explore new markets in Europe, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

“Being on the ground here is priceless because you can’t network as easily virtually. Developing relationships by meeting people face to face is definitely better.”

It’s also allowed Johnny to explore new career opportunities. In Auckland, he worked in the corporate HQ of menswear brand Barkers. In Malta, he’s been coaching rugby and selling wine.

Nature’s palette has always been a strong influence on Emma’s work, which is known for its well-considered and controlled use of colour.

In Malta, the single biggest influence on her creativity has been the honey-toned Globigerina limestone that dominates the landscape. Most of the buildings are made from it, too.

It has been used as a primary building material in Malta since prehistoric times and is still widely used today. The soft tone-on-tone surroundings have given her work a fresh perspective.

“Creatively, it’s been a very exciting time. It will be interesting to see how influences from my time overseas work their way into future designs,” she says.

It’s a milestone year for Emma, letting go of her usual day-to-day routine to embrace the challenge of a totally different experience.

How does she think her mother would feel about her adventurous spirit, her family and all that she has achieved in her business?

“I think Mum would have been proud. She would have loved to have been involved in all of this. She was always so hands on. I really needed her when the boys were born but the village stepped up – my wonderful dad, aunts, family, friends.

“I would love to share so many things with her and for her to be able to visit us now, but I know she is here in spirit.”

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