In Bruges.

Today I'm doing zombie jobs as I rejuvenate from a (very) long weekend in Belgium, where we hopped on the Eurostar to explore Bruges, Antwerp & Brussels. The change of scene was just what I needed, love visiting Europe, although am a little overdosed on trains, chips (the best ever with plenty of mayo) and chocolate (also the best ever!) It looked a bit like this:

Also got to visit one of my very favourite interior design companies, Emery & Cie who I blogged about back in September, here. Their colour arrangements are just mind blowing-ly amazing; I need a house like this...

Now back to work! x

The new nautical.

New A3 sized art prints have landed in the shop, and although I painted these with the sea in mind there's something a bit more biological and sophisticated to these Crustacea...

Part of a new range of prints based on curiosities, inspired by biological drawings and Victorian diagrams, these prints would add drama and intrigue to any dining space or kitchen. Digitally printed onto a quality heavy weight textured paper, these are definitely 'the new nautical'. Get them here.

With love.

It is the day before Valentines, and though I'm rather 'valentines-schmalentines' about the whole thing I thought I'd best make my contribution! I've never been a red rose and chocolates kind of girl, and would much rather be wooed by these finds...

Balloons Geronimo, Flowers Saipua, Kitty Old World Primitives

We 'celebrated' at the weekend just gone as we work away during the week- in reality, true love is a giant cupcake, a trip to IKEA and an all-you-can-eat 700 seater restaurant; and I've never been happier! My parents are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary tomorrow, (along with every other loved-up couple, bad decision folks!) That's pretty good going, I'd be rather happy with that...

Chocolate sponge, peanut butter frosting, chocolate ganache & maltesers...bit good

On a not so soppy, business note- I give you the long awaited Diamond Jubilee tea towel to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne; hand illustrated by me and screen printed and made in the UK. A slice of British heritage, grab yourself some memorabilia and start stringing up the bunting!

Whatever you're up to tomorrow, it's just another day to show the people you love you care, just as every day should be...(now pass the bucket!) X

For luck...

New in the shop- hand printed 'for luck' cards, featuring a horse shoe and a couple of shamrocks for some extra luck! I hand carved and printed these beauts with a deep turquoise water based ink onto a nice textured watercolour paper (fabriano in case you'd like to know...)

Live on the art of writing, we all know how exciting it is to receive something other than a bill through the door! Let someone know you're thinking of them and send some luck their way...

Also thought I'd share some of my recent favourites on Etsy, where I sell my bits. If you haven't taken a look through the things they have to offer from all over the globe, you're certainly missing out- plus you can find handmade lovelies to do with just about anything on there, even for the hardest person to buy for!


S x

Happy weekend!

The week has flown, and that's really not allowed to happen when I need to squeeze so much into it! This week I've been working on some exciting jubilee ideas, soon to be revealed...

...a friend's wedding invites (see the sweet little fabric trees; she's getting married in the forest and I can't wait!) We've sat down and looked through so many invite ideas together, seen so many smart, same-old designs and decided that these handmade ones would reflect the day perfectly; casual, relaxed and fun- plus it's been lovely to have a few evenings of glueing and snipping and getting excited about the big day! (except for one evening we spent coaxing the missing kitten down from a tree with a rather large ladder & a torch...) Anyway.

Some new art prints made their way into the shop, a limited edition lino cut of my Singer sewing machine design after a few requests from the tote bag fans, and also my large archival Cirencester print ready to grace your walls...

There have also been several hours staring blankly at Pantone charts, an enjoyable exhibition over at The Brewery Arts by The Oxford Printmakers, and a bit of painting. That's a general round-up, more soon! Tomorrow it's 'bring your boyfriend to work day' as we're off to Rapture & Wright (where I print for a few days of the week) to shoot a 'behind the scenes' video of what goes on and how their beautiful fabrics are created- will share with you when it's polished up and in its full glory! 

Have a lovely weekend! S x

Spring...

Another nice surprise- I am page 131 of Etsy's Spring Look Book for this year! Have a browse through and you'll be sure to come across some lovely new bits, as well as a couple of interesting reads from designer makers towards the back...So exciting to see what people are up to in this miserable climate (financially- today's a beautiful bright day here!) X

Open publication - Free publishing - More 2012

A nice start to 2012...

A very (belated) happy new year to you all! Hope Christmas was relaxing as it could've been; mine was spent with family playing Scrabble, eating far too much and a good stomp in the countryside before a nice quiet week in Wales around new year...feels like a long time ago already!

I'm back in the office sorting mostly my first tax return out, (oh, the glamour) though my day was saved yesterday when I heard I'd been included in Channel 4's list of 'top 10' makers to watch and invest in for 2012 on Folksy! Such amazing, exciting news, totally ready for 2012 now after my slow crawl into the new year! 


Lots of things to report to you in January, it's turning out to be quite a busy month which is surprising so will keep you posted as bits evolve...This is a small sneak snippet of a 40th birthday commission I did for a client's best friend just before Christmas...

It ended up being nick-named 'the love token' and was so beautifully thought through, with just about every important aspect of my client's friends life entwined together including places she'd lived, first cars,the names of her children and husband and other bits and pieces along the way. It was printed absolutely huge and was so lovely to work on, especially before Christmas when we all need reminding of the important things in life! 


I'd love to do more personalized illustrations like this, I'm thinking wedding presents, retirement gifts and 'big' birthdays. Interpreting and digesting photos and information that people have given me to work with is a nice challenge and I end up feeling like I know these people inside out! ...is that a little too creepy...?! 

So...back to the book keeping. May all your wishes and dreams come true this year, make it a good one! X