LOKL cafe map

I was commissioned to create a decorative sight-seeing map of Kuala Lumpur, for LOKL, a boutique coffee shop there. The brief was for it to be colourful, fun, a bit modern-retro, and to show all the great things to do in KL...Here are some photos of the framed map on the wall. The cafe is attached to a fantastic little modern back-packer place called BackHome.

holga photos

I've just developed some photos from my recent trip to the States. They seem extra atmospheric somehow...This is Bonaventure Cemetery, which featured in 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'. We visited the graves of Conrad Aitken, and especially Johnny Mercer (he wrote the wonderful song 'That Old Black Magic'. I loved the trees with hanging Spanish moss all over Savannah.This is the swamp garden at Magnolia Plantation, just outside Charleston, SC. We didn't see any crocodiles here, but did see lots of little turtles sunning themselves, and wading birds.

Karen's wedding sketches

I did a few sketches while at my friend Karen's wedding. It was held in the University Chapel in Glasgow, which was rather grand and imposing, but everyone was so happy and beautiful it felt warm and cosy. I really adore Scottish weddings, with all the men wearing kilts...Karen's dress was classical and simple...The flowers at the reception was adorable, lots of anemones and simple glass jam jar holders.

Karen's wedding

I created the wedding invitations, place settings and seating plan, for my friend Karen's wedding recently, up in Scotland. They had a map theme, mixing elements from both London and Glasgow, the cities where the bride and groom live.We chose pink and brown to give a lovely vintage look, to match the overall theme of the wedding.The place settings had elements of the invitation illustration on the front, with a little bonus illustration of Karen's spaniel in a neat bow-tie on the reverse. I added a delicate die-cut pop-out shape for the guests' names, which I hand-wrote in brown ink. I then also hand made name settings for the tables to match.The tables were named after roads in both Glasgow and Scotland. I designed the seating plan around this concept, making it into a street map, with each individual place marker as a geographic feature on the map: a house, a tree, a car, a statue... Us and the seating plan on the day...The wedding photos were taken by Christopher Currie.

digital sketchbook

My sketchbook for the Art House Co-op 2012 tour ('Forks  and Spoons, and what we think about them') has been scanned and is now available to view online in their digital library. Just register, and feel free to browse. There are some amazing books in there...

OuterEdit

I've been invited to join an exciting online design project organised by the Singapore based OuterEdit. Their website hasn't launched yet, but have a look at their facebook page. It's a chance for 5 designers/illustrators to work together to create various designs which will then be produced on clothes. There'll be several different sessions during the year, and I can't wait to take part. My 'collab' will be in September. I'll keep everyone updated so you can watch the designs online as they happen, and even influence the outcomes...

The OuterEdit film team came to London to interview all the UK-based designers for a short promotional piece, and I think mine went ok. We'll see, when it goes out online closer to the time. I was asked to draw a little logo during the filming, and this is what I came up with...

Here's a section of the info kit, with my bit and also my friend Kahori's:Their tagline is 'Together we make Awesome'. I love collaborations, so I couldn't agree more.

Peony rugs

Here are two of my exclusive, limited edition Peony rugs, available from faux in Hong Kong. They're hand-made to order, and I think they're gorgeous! Well, I would...They're made from the highest quality silk and wool, and the designs are based on my series of Peony etchings. See my previous blogs for images of the Peony collection silk cushions also!

Wall Street Journal

I went to visit the art department of the Wall Street Journal in New York, and got a copy of the 'Off Duty' section of the paper that I did a fashion cover for in December. I'm so happy with it! It features catwalk photographs of models, in an illustrated party setting.

trip to the South

I've just come back from a road trip through the South of America. It was amazing. We started in cultured Savannah, Georgia, where I was super happy to see the Bird Girl sculpture, made famous by the book 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' (one of my favourites).Then onwards to Charleston, South Carolina, where we toured a few preserved historical residences,and also the Magnolia Plantation with its gorgeous swamp garden. We stayed in some lovely bed and breakfast places. Then it was on to the Great Smoky Mountains, where we saw a baby bear! In Nashville we went to a Honky Tonk in a Western bar and saw the Don Kelly Band...and watched a show at the Grand Ole Opry, and also ate the best "meat and 3s" ever at Arnolds. Mostly, this was a music and food trip, to sample all the specialities of the South. Here's an example of local cuisine, although usually there's a few fried somethings thrown in too! And of course, pies aplenty...The local "chess pie" was extra sweet, but the winner was the "lemon ice-box pie" from Corky's in Memphis. Their ribs were also the overall winner!

Brooklyn Sketchbook Project

I've just been to visit the first stop of the Brooklyn Art Library's Sketchbook Tour 2012, in the home of the library itself: Williamsburg New York. It was a gloriously sunny day, and I wandered in, got myself a library card, and browsed some of the delightful sketchbooks on offer. There were so many! Of course I checked that my own sketchbook (you can see some pages from it on one of my previous blogs) was there safe and sound, which was a great feeling. The sketchbooks will be in Brooklyn for another few weeks, and then off around the States, and in London in November. You can check the dates on the website. Hope you'll make it!

yara lights

These are the new lights by thinkgadgets, in production as we speak. They're made of delicate ceramic, and hand-painted (my pattern design!) to give off a lovely vintage-y feeling warm glow. They'll be available this year. But not yet...

bathroom mural

I've just completed a beautiful residential mural project for NBB Design (an interiors company): it's the fanciest guest bathroom you've ever seen, with hand-written & painted phrases from the client's friends covering the walls from floor to ceiling.

Cotswolds afternoon tea

We just spent the day in the Cotswolds, and had the loveliest afternoon tea ever at Juri's Tearoom in the country town of Winchcombe. The crockery was a pretty blue... ...and the view from the conservatory was delightful. But it's the cakes you need to try; honestly, the cheese cake was the best I've ever had, anywhere. So light and fluffy. The sandwiches were beautiful too. Everything is perfect, as it's traditional English, but with a slight hint of the Japanese, as Juri is from there.I absolutely recommend this place if you're anywhere near...

AERIS magazine interview

I've been interviewed in the current issue of AERIS, a China-based online cultural lifestyle magazine. You can read the whole issue online, or take a sneak peek at my pages here...

Chicago Tribune

I did this fun little illustration for the Chicago Tribune not that long ago, that featured advice from top chefs on cooking at home. Imagine you had an army of little chefs to help you when you're making that complicated dish...

Vienna cake weekend

I went to Vienna recently, and spent the weekend visiting as many cafes, and eating as many different cakes, as possible. Viennese cakes are irresistable...We went to Cafe Diglas, Hotel Sacher, Cafe Sperl, Cafe Landtmann, and some other slightly less famous places, which were just as tasty... My favourite was the Cafe Sperl, which had a beautiful quiet atmosphere, but the best cake was definately the Sacher Torte at the Hotel Sacher. The apricot jam was so smooth and light, like a dream. Tis a cake for grown-ups.

Woman's Day magazine

I recently illustrated a little piece about the best ways to sleep, for Woman's Day magazine in the US. My favourite drawings were these little sleep-inducing sheep...

Talaramba Reef website

I've recently done a little bit of work for the nice people who run Talaramba Reef holiday villas in Sri Lanka: I did some calligraphy for their logo and website,I created little icons of local flora and fauna for the website & for use inside the villas, and also created a map of their location.I think it must be holiday time very, very soon...

Theatre Royal Haymarket

I went to see The Importance of Being Earnest, my favourite Oscar Wilde play, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London last week, and took some photos of the beautiful interiors. I love the paintings they do on the safety curtains, especially the calligraphic text...

sketchbook project

I joined a community sketchbook project run by the Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, NY last year, and recently completed my book for the 2012 project. I chose the subject 'forks and spoons' and researched folklore, sayings, and proverbs from all over the world concerning cutlery. I experimented and doodled in the sketchbook in a variety of media, including collage. All the sketchbooks in the project will be going on tour around the States, before they're permanently archived in Brooklyn. Please keep a look out and see if they're going to be near you. I'd love to hear from you if you see my sketchbook!