Ellen Van Dusen

Ellen Van Dusen runs a clothing and home goods company called Dusen Dusen. Her aesthetic is centred around pattern and colour, the bolder the better. 

What role does music play in your day-to-day life as a creative?:

We listen to music 8 hours a day in the studio, and it is a huge part of what we do. Music helps me concentrate and stay focused on what I’m doing, and we tailor the playlist to whatever is going on in the studio. If we’re all writing emails, we listen to instrumental or mellower music (recently S.E Rogie, lou reed, tom waits, mac demarco, kathy heideman, frank ocean…), if we are all working on non-verbal tasks, we bump the tunes and listen to something more upbeat (kendrick lamar, the kinks, young thug, amber coffman, beyonce…). Music has always been a big part of my life, and I think I’ve taken notes from musicians I’ve idolized over the years and incorporated those ideas into my own  attitude about work. Like, hey! put yourself out there, people might like it! And, if you mess up probably you are the only one that will notice! Lastly and most importantly, do it your own way! I always admired the weirdest ones, and music was the first medium where I grew to appreciate that.

Tell us about your playlist:

This is a mix of songs I have loved for a long time as well as recent hits I’ve been listening to. I tend to like harmonies and sparse production. I learn about music in different ways, but most significantly from my brothers who are in a band together called Flower Girl (who have a track on this mix). I’ll let the tunes speak for themselves!