Nearly there...

My new venture I've been working on last few months has been coming along nicely. It took really a while but I enjoyed working with like minded local crafts people to get this off the ground.
I have designed 15 greeting cards, some with modern calligraphy by Myrtle & co, they will be hot foil blocked with copper and silver. Four Christmas designs supporting RANA where we adopted our Tunisian rescue cat. Here are super sneak preview and some snaps from Dot Studio who's been very helpful and professional choosing paper and suggesting different finishes. Of course everything is produced carefully using only high quality FSC certified uncoated card stock and 100% recycled paper envelopes. I'm so excited to starting something new.

East Central Cycles

I have just entered t-shirt design competition at East Central Cycles, my local bike shop on Exmouth Market where I got my bike built. Their original logo features bike wheel and greyhound. I have applied my own illustration twist to it. Hope I will win! (winning is not everything but losing sucks...) Watch this space!

Mina Perhonen in the making

Just watched this serene and calm sequence. I enjoyed seeing the process of how the textiles and garments of mina perhonen were born and eventually bought by customers from their shops. So satisfying to see hand drawn images turned into textiles by skilled crafts men in Japan. 

Antique linen tops

Finally the idea I have been slowly working on turned into a physical form. It's only a initial stage but feels good to get one of my dreams off the ground!

I made these SIMPLE tees to be sold at Family Tree, my another business, using very old French linen in mottled green/grey/blue tone. 

I cycle everywhere on my road bike so mostly wear jeans or chinos on my bottom, I had an idea of making a top which has little or no design twists, more about the material and possibly the prints of the textile. By taking away cuts and shapes from the garments they hang beautifully and looks flattery on. I will keep working with this shape, lighter cotton would be nice for the hot day like today, would love to print my own pattern eventually too.

Sarah Paramor Baskets

I recently designed a little logo for Sarah Paramor Baskets. Sarah and her husband Aron moved to Applecross in Highland, population of 240(!) 3 years ago from London. Now they live in cute house surrounded by ducks, geese, chickens and 2 dogs Onion and Compost. Aron has set up new business Applecross Ices which recently swept 8 awards in highland ice-cream show! Sarah has started to learn basket weaving in her spare time using local willow. They kindly invited us this Easter so we drove all the way over 2 days going over narrow rocky cliff edges to Applecross. Everything about the life there were extreme polar opposite of London one. We've enjoyed fresh local seafood, large open beaches, collecting freshly laid eggs in the morning, mountain walks, breathing in pure air, coming across with sheep everywhere.
I thought gaining new skills to sustain living and to be able to trade and offer what you can do to your community is such satisfying thing! I'm not quite ready to give up waking up in the morning and popping in to local shop for croissants and a cup of latte. But this holiday really opened my eyes to see there are wonderful ways of living outside of London worth considering for the future.