We’re busy… There’s a lot to do. Even in the creative industry, taking a break in the working day can feel impossible. We even apologise for it (or maybe that’s just me…). But leading a lunchtime sketchwalk for The Trampery on the Gantry, I encouraged chat about what getting outdoors … Read More
Studio Snack, a collaborative podcast with fellow designer Narcis Sauleda… It started when we kept having conversations about all things creative practice that we wished we’d recorded. The podcasts are fun to make – we get to compare notes, ask questions, have script meetings in cafés, learn stuff and conduct experiments. … Read More
The mechanics of the design process are often set out as diagrams – templates offering a route to creativity. They’re useful in explaining how things work. But they miss out one crucial thing – the bit where the magic is. The unexpected. Learning to be open, to let things go wrong … Read More
Learning about people from a personal project… My Autumn / Winter range of t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies has gone up on my Teemill shop. It’s an offshoot of my Dispatches from a Small World blog, which started as a lockdown project (do keep up…). But it’s also a lab that’s … Read More
“How does Lydia do this!”… It’s always a delight when a client enjoys the work from a live sketching commission, here, an assignment for long-time client Ideas Foundation covering the Disrupt Space exhibition at The Department Store, Brixton. And this time, my client Heather’s comment set off a stock-take of … Read More
Humans of Here East… I co-work at The Trampery on the Gantry, at innovation and technology campus Here East, formerly the press centre for the 2012 Olympics. Interviewed for its impact report case study on responses to the pandemic, I’ve been talking about the value of having brains to pick, … Read More
Adventures in natural colour… It all started when Cordwainers Dye wanted to join in with an activity I had designed for East End WI joining up drawing with embroidery. In turn, I took part in their bundle-dyeing workshop. And so, a conversation started about colour. Experiments with natural inks are … Read More
From invention to creativity… My practice runs on curiosity. I work with some fascinating science clients and project partners and some of them have been involved in the SunSpaceArt STEAM festival (science, technology, engineering, art and maths) so I’ve dropped in to talks during the day. But when I think … Read More
Weird year: new insights… Well, 2020… over here, the entire pattern of studio life was thrown into disarray. But I was brought up by parents who had to adapt countless times, decades before pivoting was a thing. So in the silence of the first lockdown, I started rearranging things. New … Read More
Why personal projects matter… I’m a big fan of making my own work as well as work for clients. Why? Well, think of it as an R&D playground. At the start of the London lockdown, working from home, I decided to report from my garden in place of my daily … Read More