There is a rare bird unique to the Australian continent called the bowerbird, with a bizarre trait like no other: It finds and collects items to decorate its nest. We’re not just talking twigs. Instead, it gathers a vast array of brightly colored objects, including shells, leaves, flowers, feathers, stones, berries, coins, nails, even shards of plastic or glass. To look into a bowerbird’s nest is to behold a treasure trove of the ingeniously collected and considered.
The renowned Australian interiors stylist and best-selling author Megan Morton might be the personification of that bird (even down to their shared penchant for what she calls “Biden blue”), except for one fundamental difference: Megan spots, collects, polishes...and then she gives everything in her bower away. Generous to a fault, Megan is constantly presenting gifts to friends, family, and people she admires—even strangers. It is this blend of her foraging-filled travels and her singular (and exquisite) taste, along with the pure joy of giving, that makes her perhaps the greatest giver of gifts I know.
She navigates the high and low with ease and confidence—a matchbook might be the perfect fit for one person, a vintage brooch for another—and she doesn’t shy from the grandest gestures imaginable (hello Hermès saddlery). It is why her side business in Sydney, The School, where she teaches hands-on subjects like candlemaking or indigo dyeing, are so popular, and why her guided shopping and stylist-101 trips to India, Japan, France, and Kenya have been so successful.
At the start of my career, when I was working as a waiter and dishwasher, I was lucky enough to have Megan pluck me out of a café, place me in her nest for awhile as her fossicking assistant, and then send me off into the world. In this season of giving, I could think of no one more appropriate to represent the spirit of generosity than the magical (and a little mad) Megan Morton..
There are shoppers and there are collectors, but more than anything you are a gifter—and the most gifted one I know. Where did that come from?
My mom was such a great gifter. Let’s say she didn't have the aesthetic drive to give like I do, yet she always said, “Give small things, but often.” I think that is just such a great attitude for everything. You know, when you see someone and you think, "It's not his birthday. It's not Christmas. I don't care. I just really want David Prior to have that XYZ. Because that is so him and I want him to experience that joy.” But selfishly, I am the one who is getting the joy. As we’ve all recently realized, experiencing beauty in all its forms is one of the best reasons for living. This is what makes me want to continually chase charm and be an A-game gifter. It’s a simple way to share the bounty of what I see.
You also throw parties with ingenious little touches.
To me, gift-giving is like entertaining. They are always one and the same. There is a fine art to it, and the art is a lot like entertaining in the pre-thought. I had a party for 40 of my friends where I tied simple white napkins with silk scarves as rings. I just kept my eyes open at charity stores — where, as a stylist, I find myself all the time — and when I'd find a stunning scarf, I'd take it to my alterations person and she would just fix the little silk edge roll that wasn't perfect. We'd steam them and clean them and spray them with rosewater. At the end of six months, I had 40 perfect scarves. Not all of them were a 10 out of 10 to each person, but they were pretty much an 8. I was so happy at my party, because I just couldn't believe that I’d pulled off the greatest reverse gift ever.
