What is an Advent calendar and where did they come from? In our latest episode of Studio Snack, a food podcast about design, we explore the austere, the odd and the newsworthy, we consult AI and we rethink what an Advent calendar could be. I love going down rabbit holes … Read More
For a talk at City Lit, I’ve been looking at how and why my creative practice has grown, and what I bring from one strand to the others. It’s been a fascinating talk to put together – and here’s what it’s shown me about how creative knowledge and skills can … Read More
I love a good clearout. I’m the daughter of an artist-designer who turned his own into an event – canvases would be ripped; pots smashed; bonfires piled high; work buried in the meadow at the end of the garden. One day, archaeologists will ponder the rituals that these might have … 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
In a guest lecture for postgraduate students at Loughborough University London’s Creative Research and Innovation Centre, I’ve talked about how working in East London creative clusters has shaped my practice. Sketch-mapping my story, I’ve seen just how much geography has played a part in the work I’ve done, the broadening … Read More
Sunshine! For the May Studio Snack podcast, we’ve gone outdoors to talk about picnics. Grab a blanket, a Scotch egg and tune in to hear about the curious indoor history of the picnic, picnics in numbers, a sandwich in Sandwich and this month’s design experiment.
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
I was looking for a milliners’ head, a prop for a brainstorm. The only ones I could find were proper grown-up milliners’ equipment, which is, quite rightly, expensive because it’s beautifully made, or plastic. So I invented a flatpack one that could slot together and made some out of waste … Read More
The point of playtime… Away from my desk, I grow things, I draw things growing – and sometimes I join it up, turning growing things into things to draw with. I’ve saved petals from French marigold dead-headings. For a while, I’ve been using the basic method of hot water and salt … Read More