I’ve always loved colours, patterns and prints – in art, design and advertising. I guess that’s one of the main reasons I was drawn to becoming a Graphic Designer – so much creativity, expression and fun! Which is so ironic, as the typical Graphic Design ‘uniform’ is to keep it very simple and wear all black. In recent years I’ve found myself rebelling against this stereotype and becoming #confidentlycolourful instead – celebrating my creative taste through style....
I should probably begin with a little confession; I am a bad reader. Yep, I hold my hands up. I used to really love reading, and in fact at one point I had worked my way through the whole Young Persons section in my little hometown library – I even started requesting books from other libraries in the county. I would inhale a Nancy Drew/Gossip Girl book for breakfast! Things have changed quite a lot...
As a Freelancer working from home the majority of the week, things can sometimes be a bit lonely. I’m an extrovert needing human contact and I’m lucky enough to have a co-working space to visit, but every now and again I treat myself to a morning or afternoon working from a coffee shop. Sometimes I’ll meet with a friend (usually lovely Ella – she took these photos of me btw) but other than chatting to the...
November: Black So Halloween is just about over, but black is here to stay! The clocks have gone back but the nights are still drawing in and it seems to get dark at 4pm now!? I don’t really mind though as even though I love the colours of the rainbow, I love black too. I was thinking about my relationship with black the other day as even though I’m a colour lover, I often find...
You wouldn’t expect to find a staircase in a shipping container, but in East London anything can happen. When Print Club London invited me to a preview of the Blisters 2017 prints I knew it was going to be good, but stepping down into this amazing warehouse style room (yes it was underground) I was in awe – of both the room AND the prints, of course. If you’re not familiar with Blisters then listen...
October: ORANGE Is it a predictable move to choose orange as my colour calendar for the month of halloween? Yes. Do I care? Nah, because a little slice of autumnal orange never hurt anyone. Now, I know that Orange can be a bit scary for some people: it’s bright, bold and quite unusual in our daily lives. I think we forget that some of the best things in life are orange; the sun (we all need...
Pinch, punch, first of the month and welcome to my new monthly series: Colour Calendar. 12 months to celebrate 12 colours. Simple! September: RED This September I’m seeing RED for a number of reasons (not just because Taylor Swift released her new album and she is out for blood). It’s usually paired with February for love etc, but I don’t see why we have to wait until Valentines day to spread the love. Red just...
Last year I confessed something that probably made stationery addicts everywhere gasp in horror (dramatic, much?). 2016 was the first time I heard about National Stationery Week being a real thing. Maybe this is you right now!? ha But anyway, yes, it is ‘a thing’ and the 2017 stationery hype is in full swing as I post this – in fact TODAY is World Stationery Day. I hope you’ve been geeking out over pencils with no shame?...
What is a working space? Is it a place where you create, make and produce things? A place where you concentrate and work hard? A place that you have pride in? Sorting through one of my hard drives the other day I found this montage, probably the earliest ‘photo’ I have of my creative space: Apart from questioning why photo montages were ever a thing, it got me thinking about my working space and how...
Oh Brixton, why do people avoid you so? Unfortunately a lot of people are scared to visit because you’ve got a bit of a bad reputation, but all I found on my visit was colour and quirk! It’s probably not top of your list for places to visit in London, usually tourists opt for the more ‘classic’ tourist areas such as Soho, Chelsea and London Bridge, but Brixton is cool. It’s not a ground breaking...
Cafes. There are hundreds (maybe even thousands?) in London, each with their own style and atmosphere. From the swanky coffee bar to the greasy spoon, they are a hub for people meeting friends, working away from the office or just relaxing. They all have that in common. But what about if you’re looking for something different to the norm of coffee and brownies? You’ve probably heard about the Cat Cafes popping up, but if you...
Hands up if you like collecting nice looking things for inspiration or making mood boards…? Pinterest has been helping us with our desire to stay both inspired and organised at the same time. You can pin for any occasion; deciding on a new haircut, a halloween costume, redecorating your flat or planning a wedding (Apparently every girl has a secret wedding Pinterest board, but I don’t… yet). I often use the phrase ‘Pinterest-worthy’ to describe beautiful...
Some of you might remember that last year I challenged myself with #The100DayProject? For 100 days I posted a photo featuring a triangle to my Instagram account, with weekly round ups on the blog too; #100daysoftriangles was probably the biggest challenge I’ve ever set myself. But I’m so glad that I did… I’ve managed to keep my blog running for 7 years now, but other than that I’ve never really stuck at anything for a...
Last week I gave you 21 24 amazing Creative Instagrammers that would guarantee endless scrolling & fill your Instafeed with inspiration. This week I’m looking a bit deeper into Instagram: hashtags. #. Hashtag. What is a hashtag? It’s a descriptive word which can be used to group and collect other similar pieces of information. You’ve probably come across Hashtags on Twitter, Facebook and TV – most events/programmes have one. Hashtags are a great way for searching/ directing...
Following on from my creative Blogger and Youtuber recommendations… Hands up if you love Instagram? Me too guys, me too. I spend way too many hours scrolling through inspirational imagery – I don’t know why but there’s something quite addictive about Instagram. Some people post fluffy bunnies, some post cars. Some feeds have a look and feel – a theme, and others are… a selfie-loving, filter-overloaded mess. I’ll admit, it is a bit sad that Instagram isn’t so...