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
From triangles to samosas – what Veganuary taught us about design In our first Studio Snack podcast of 2024, Snack resolution, fellow designer Narcis Sauleda and I do Veganuary. We chat about accidentally vegan snacks, Pythagoras, vegan equivalents of meat-based snacks, we try out two recipes and we ask what … 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
Doing prep for sketching at events, I like to consider context. So for a party at Trampery Fish Island Village, a campus for fashion, innovation and sustainability, I made swing tags from waste, spare supplies and offcuts. This is where my multi-stranded creative practice comes in. But it also uses … Read More
Design and illustration are often portrayed as desk work, and good service as being available on-demand. So in what’s both Creativity and Wellbeing Week and Mental Health Awareness Week, I’ve been thinking about the value of a screen break. The best design tutors I’ve taught with have a lot to … Read More
A side project of a side project… My Teemill store has line illustrations on organic cotton garments and tote bags. It sprang from Dispatches from a Small World, my three-year project reporting from my urban garden in sketches. I’ve learned a lot from this foray into retail, at the design … Read More
Before software did the hard work of visualising typography, we had Letraset – sheets of dry transfer lettering. We’d run out of the most-used letters so we would cobble together characters from what we had. And when I did my first Nerd Nite London talk, on ampersands, I asked letter cutter … Read More
Biscuit Kintsugi… that seems in no way relevant to my work. But in the making of Broken Biscuits, the latest episode of Studio Snack, a monthly podcast with fellow designer Narcis Sauleda, there’s been more common ground than you’d think. There’s the usual delving into the subject – where we’ve found … Read More
For arts and crafts volunteering over the festive season, I had designed an activity that involved both – decorating a sketchbook and drawing in it. The paper and board were waste, from the Yodomo Circular Hub in Hackney. I like waste for workshops – it’s a good thing environmentally and it takes away … Read More
Over the past three years, there’s been a whirlwind of adaptation to new contexts, new client needs, new ideas and brand new uses for my creative knowledge and skills. It’s been all about doing, and learning by doing. So it’s been interesting to have two rare chances to reflect. Researcher, … Read More