Good Humans | Alex and Jamie Preisz
There are moments in life when adventure feels louder than comfort - when staying still feels harder than beginning again. For Alex Preisz and Jamie Preisz, that moment led them to Portugal. What began as an idea - one many people talk about but rarely act on - became a shared leap into a slower, more intentional way of living.
In Lisbon, creativity is no longer something reserved for the studio or behind a camera. It flows through the rhythm of their days, into the way they dress, the way they host, the way they build corners of their apartment into something uniquely theirs. Known for a distinctive personal aesthetic that blends vintage references with contemporary expression, their style - like their work - feels instinctive yet considered.
This conversation is about what happens when you choose a different pace, carry your creativity into the everyday, and build a life that feels both expansive and enduring.
You both chose to build your life in Portugal. What were you seeking when you made that decision - more space, a different pace, a stronger foundation for how you wanted to live?
A: How many people say "I'd love to live here" "we plan to move to ...." but they rarely put the hard work behind closed doors to actually plan their move and figure out how to do it. We wanted to understand what it would take to migrate to a new country and start a new adventure. When I made the decision to move I was thinking of Jamie's father and my mother who both moved their lives and emigrated to Australia.
J: I would also add, we had an amazing wedding with so many friends from our overseas travels, then went to our honeymoon climbing a mountain in Peru. It felt at the time like there was more adventure calling and there is not many times in your life when you can just drop everything and go, so we did.
How has living in Portugal reshaped the rhythm of your days - creatively, personally, even practically?
A: It has totally re-shaped the rhythm of my life, for starters the obvious one is waking up late. In Iberia the world sleeps in, it's late to rise and late to eat. A priority shift where nothing is rushed and patience is key. I have gained patience living in Portugal and my life has slowed down dramtically. Creatively I have had more time to play, more time to expand with my creative ideas and desires.
J: It's been a shift for me too. In Australia, I had an emerging but more or less comfortable practice as an artist. Moving overseas has meant starting again from the bottom but with all the skills I have learnt over the last ten years. It's been invigorating but humbling at the same time.
Do you feel the move has changed what you make, or more how you move through life while making it?
A: I recently sent my Dad a wedding film which I filmed in Rome last year, probably one of my biggest projects in the last 7 years and he couldn't believe I'd filmed and edited it. It was a nice marker of time for a family member to see how life in Europe is actually changing my creative processes.
J: I am simultaneously running a small natural wine bar while I make paintings. Juggling both has given me an appreciation for my time in my studio that I previously had the luxury of not stressing too much about. I've been more focussed and efficient with my creative time.
Neither of you seperates creativity from everyday life. How do filmmaking and art quietly show up in your routines, outside of "work time"?
A: We love to build, we love to look around our environment and see how we can inject our own way into the little things. I'll look at a corner of our apartment and say, a curved bench here would fit perfectly. Jamie's art has translated into sewing and woodwork in our everyday life which is really fun, my clothes are all repaired.
J: Creativity is not just making art, it's a way of looking at the world. From how you converse with people to hosting a dinner party, there is opportunity for creativity in every space. How can I more honestly express myself and connect with the world around me.
Alex, filmmaking is about framing, restraint and timing. Jamie, art often allows for instinct and exploration. How do those different creative instincts shape the way you live?
A: I'm very bendy, I bend a lot with my filming. I squat and lean from one leg to another to create movement behind my camera in my filming work. In my day to day life, I practice yoga which I strangely think lines up with my editing work. My practice in both movement and filming is about bending through experiences with flow paired with music to create a rhythm just like editing a film, it's about balance of one's attention while being moved emotionally.
J: Art to me is a process, it's intentionally exploring conceptually, philosophically and visually and then laying that exploration out bare so an audience can interpret your results. It doesn't necessarily dictate a view or reason for it's existence but good art will allow the audience a pathway to expand their thinking.
Has slowing down given you more space to observe - rather than constantly produce?
A: Wow yes, I've surprised myself in my own business that I'm operating on Portugal time which isn't about the time zone, it's about taking as much time as you need with no sense of feeling rushed. Emails, responding to people or being in a rush doesn't feel like a priority anymore because of our surroundings. In Lisbon, we're surrounded by people who take their time in life and I feel like it's rubbing off on me.
J: Yes it has, though it's so important to document those observations and expand on the good ones in creative time. Many painters know this already but a lot of a painting is staring at it through squinted eyes and thinking. Slowing down makes that process more available.
Your personal style is very distinct - expressive, vintage-influenced, but grounded. How do you think about style as an extension of your creative lives?
A: I'm so attracted to Jamie's own sense of style. In his clothing I see his creative mind and it makes me so happy. Jamie and I often have this unique situation when we leave the house and walk down our street, I glance at him and see that we are wearing the same colour palette by accident. Does this happen other couples? It's pretty beautiful, and unplanned art work when we walk together hand in hand.
J: Personal style is a visual expression of your inner self. Sometimes I feel like a cowboy, sometimes I feel more punk or disco, there may even be a combination of all of those things. The important thing is showing that self. The true fashion icons are kids who have just learned to dress themselves. 8 years old and you're Spiderman with a tutu and roller-skates, you do you! I try to listen to that voice inside of me and dress accordingly.
Your wedding was a highly visible, very intentional expression of that style. How does that heightened moment compare to how you actually dress day to day now?
A: Our wedding was a pinnacle of our shared creations and we expressed this with music, our clothing and our words. Jamie always dresses in colour, it's rare to see him in all black without a pop of colour in a neckerchief so Jamie's suit expressed his need for constant colour in his life. I feel like the small studded jewels on Jamie's wedding suit expressed his everyday attitude for the world, a glittery eye for life with an element of humour and bold expression.
J: Alex has an innate sense of style, it could be a dress, a chair, a carpet, an obscure album of Japanese Psychedelica, she knows what she likes and I love it. I think the wedding was just a moment where we could put some of the creative thoughts we have everyday into one event. Alex constantly blows my mind.
What does "getting dressed" look like in a normal week in Portugal - are there pieces you return to again and again that feel foundational?
A: Layers are key. The Portuguese girls here have the most wonderful sense of unique style, it is very effortlessly layered. The weather changes here in the winter, it can be a brisk European morning chill then the sun will be out by the afternoon. Getting dressed for us looks like us picking fun hats, belts and always shoes that can handle the slippery calcada (portuguese cobble stones).
J: I've been wearing my WNSDY Frankie Pants as a base then layering from there, sometimes just a clean white tee and a ramones style biker jacket. I'm always into the vintage here so I love including things I've found at Fiera da Ladra (flea market), proper sixties sunglasses, hats, shirts with huge collars.
Has living somewhere more tactile, walkable and slower changed how you think about comfort, longevity and function in clothing?
A: My heeled shoes that I bought over from Australia are gaining dust in my wardrobe, it's not a city for anything other than flat shoes which has made me excited about platformed footwear and shoes made in Portugal built for the environment.
J: Like Alex it's definitely made me more conscious of my footwear. Aside from that though because we came over with just two suitcases and a cat, it's made me think much more about how clothing can work together in multiple looks and how that mismatch can be joyful.
Moving countries is a shared leap. What did you learn from each other through that transition?
J: It's been a rollercoaster in a lot of ways, learning a new language and being in a new place means you really have to be best friends We have seen every part of each other and been through thick and thin together. I can truly say no one on this planet knows me better than Alex.
A: It's made me love him more than I ever have, it brings you together in a way that feels like a confused joint consciousness.
How do you support each other creatively while still holding space for your own identities?
J: We both have creative outputs and will show each other what we've been working on. When we do there is really good communication around if something is ready for critque or if you're just looking for someone to be excited about a project with you. I think having that in place holds space but also supports us both.
A: Practically speaking, when I need help with my work, he will join my company and I will join his, not always on the payroll though (laughs).
Since moving, is there anything - creatively or stylistically - that you've let go of, and something simpler that's taken it's place?
J: For me it was heeled boots, I'm a big fan of a leather boot with a nice heel but on the streets of Alfama you will more than likely see me rocking a pair of Chuck Taylors unless it's a special event.
A: For me, there is one fur hat I bought in a second hand shop in country Australia that never seemed to be needed in the NSW winter. It's now a constant rotation in my European wardrobe.
If this chapter in Portugal is about building a life that lasts, what feels most important to protect right now?
J: What feels most important to me is building up a structure around our lives to work from. We need to look forward and care for our future selves now. I personally used to love late nights out but more and more, a romantic dinner at home with Alex and our cat Bechamel. Perhaps a movie is my happy place and something worth protecting.
A: Our friendships back in Australia need more nurturing more than ever with the distance but personally, Jamie and I need more nurturing as two people in a new environment. Our mental health while taking on a new adventure as immigrants is the biggest thing worth protecting.
Alex wears the Ella Dress in Nude
Jamie wears the Frankie Pant in Black
Images by Annie