It’s not the most conventional of festive repeat patterns. But bear with me… I love a pencil shaving. I make a lot of them, on live sketching assignments and on my own work. In a circle, they can be baubles or snowflakes. They’re general enough to be relevant to the … Read More
Buscuit. No, that’s not a typo. Well, it was, until someone taking part in some sketch engagement I was doing at Cody Dock wrote it (biscuit being one of those words it’s surprisingly tricky to remember how to spell) and we decided that it should not just be a word … Read More
Chip fork fish? DIY postcards? There’s been a field trip to the seaside for the latest episode of Studio Snack, a food podcast about design that I make with Narcis Sauleda. We were researching seaside snacks and for our grand day out, as well as my usual hand-bound sketchbook made … Read More
A half-finished word. This is part of a slow side project spinning off from notes scribbled in a writing workshop involving a harp (thank you, fellow 26 member Fiona Thompson) – but I digress. This half-finished embroidered word. Embroidery is very Zen. I get to look at work in progress … Read More
A lemon top ice cream in Redcar. That hadn’t been the plan. Whitby had been my next colour trip, for jet black and the Old Norse for white, more of which later. But getting there turned out to be fiddly so I had designed a scenic route North, wiggling down … Read More
“Where is your studio?” That used to be an easy question to answer. I did one thing – graphic design – and I worked from one place, desk space in a shared studio. But my work is broader now. I use what I know as well as what I do. … Read More
Three days off; three train journeys; two places; countless colours. My colour trip – a plan to wander guided by places with colour stories – was scuppered by the pandemic. But thanks to a suggestion by creative collaborator Narcis Sauleda, I’m reviving it in bits. On a week off in Scotland … Read More
This year, there’s a new rhythm to the week. My studio days are Monday to Thursday; the fifth day of the working week is Free-range Friday, earmarked for personal work and exploration. So what goes on, on these days resolutely away from a desk? Well, like the best sort of … Read More
Inspired by the best question I’ve ever been asked in a briefing meeting – “Could we have some sweary type?” I discovered that it has a name: Grawlix. Or does it? My sixth talk for Nerd Nite London goes down a rabbit-hole of research on cartoon history, fashions in writing, … Read More
I’ve started my new studio year by starting off a loaf of bread, to rise and prove while I get on with the overview, admin and communication that get the work under way. As I knead the dough, I think about the mindset that does this. Creative professionals are multitaskers … Read More