Have you ever bought the most beautiful pair of boots, only to leave them on your shoe rack because you feared street scuff? Or maybe you were one of those exceedingly patient kids who kept a toy in its original package? Melissa Michelsen, the lady behind Love Mert, feels your pain. “I would come across all of these gorgeous upholstery samples and vintage fabrics, but I would fall in love with them and couldn’t bear to cut them up,” Melissa explains. Instead, the mix master began experimenting with her own prints, which are drawn and painted by hand to create an imperfect vibe that she’s drawn to. Check out her latest creations below. —monica derevjanik Super into the Kroller? Well, Melissa put it on a rad tote for us! Score it here. The Rocco“My sister sent me a link to all these gorgeous hand-tied Moroccan rugs that had all of these geometric patterns on them. I just loved this one carpet so much—it was an area rug with all of these lines going through it. I just had to work from it.” The Kroller“I was looking at an old collection of Mondrian paintings in one of my art books, and I saw a black-and-white one with crisscrosses all over it that I loved. I love patterns that are geometric but organic at the same time—geometric, but misshapen.” The Striate“I got them name from a formation in natural crystals—striation. It’s when you see little lines going through crystals. There are some prints I make that I like so much that I carry them into the next season with a different color palette, and this was one of them.”

Where does Melissa Michelsen find inspiration for her bag line Love Mert, with its spot-on color combos and streamlined shapes? Interior-design magazines—foreign ones to be exact. “It can be the colors of pillows on a sofa, a quilt on a bed, or even a peeling plaster wall,” she explains. These are the ones she’s dying over right now. —monica derevjanik ELLE Decoration, U.K.“I like this because of the mix of really old houses and modern colorful furnishings, and that’s what I obsess over. It’s my dream to have some old beautiful house with history to it and details and craftsmanship—but then also to have modern, colorful, interesting new objects.” Livingetc, U.K.“This is another interior magazine from the U.K., and this one was actually the first one that really got me started on these kinds of publications. I found it years ago. It just felt so fresh and new to me compared to your typical American interior magazine.” Inside Out, Australia“I found this maybe a year or so ago. Australian spaces are just so cool. I always love Florence Broadhurst, who is this textile designer from Australia, and I like the Aussies’ wild use of color and the boldness that has always been part of their culture. I would love to go there.” Vogue Living, Australia“It’s the Australian thing again. And there’s something about this magazine and the nature that’s involved—this fresh, indoor/outdoor living that feels so freeing. I’m super drawn to the more tropical climate with the concrete floors and modern furnishings and amazing abstract art and huge palms.” Come back tomorrow to see how all this goodness plays out in Melissa’s work. Sign up for our email list so you don’t miss her edition!