Melanie Leopoldino Johler was born in Vienna and bored with Berhold Loffler and Koloman Moser, the founders of the Wiener Werkstatte of which Mela also became a member in 1909. Her specialty was in fashion postcards, probably because of her affinity with the women's reform and emancipation movement. Her illustrations are full of abstract colors, they were not advertisements for real ready-made clothes, but are imaginative drawings, which inspired women to experiment and follow their dreams also in clothing. Mela created around 150 postcards, which are still highly sought after by collectors today.