Winchester Mystery House

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I went to visit Winchester Mystery House in San Jose recently, home of the widow of the heir to the famous Winchester rifle fortune. She was a bit eccentric (to say the least) and built a truly bizarre house. There was a very nice little mini exhibit of all the things that the Winchester company made in their heydey, and I drew these sketches there. I really love old handtools!

London toile dinner plates

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I'm in London, and I've just received some samples of my London toile dinner plates. They're super cute!They're made from fine bone china, blue on white, in a set of 6, and each plate has a different London icon in the centre.I have to say that I have a soft spot for the corgi...They're available to buy online and instore from faux and tree, in HK.

River Cottage veg USA

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River Cottage veg everyday has been re-printed in the US, and the publishers here have taken the illustrated endpapers I made for the original UK edition, and put them on the front and back covers of the book, with a short dust jacket. I like it. Though I kind of miss Hugh on the cover.Vegetable books are super popular in the States at the moment, and I saw the book in a nice article in a foodie magazine...I was also super chuffed when I saw it in the anthropologie online store...and even more when I saw it in the actual store!It's available on amazon US.

Topsy-Turvy

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I did some line illustrations for this fun knitting book in the US recently.I drew several different frames that were used for chapter headings throughout the book:and created little background scenes for the knitted creatures to feature in, some as double pages, some as single.I've never been that good at sewing or knitting, but I may just give these a go! The book is available on amazon.

thank you

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I designed some thank you cards that matched our wedding Save-the-Dates and invitations, to send our lovely guests. The illustration features the watercolour leaves from the wedding, but small pink flowers have been added to the design, to show love blossoming...The leaves were printed in HK (my friend Sandy at Lui & Co handled this for me) on specially chosen thick soft paper, and these were then sent to my friend Katie Baldwin in the States, who letter-pressed my calligraphy and flowers by hand. This created the effect of softness and crispness, in one beautiful package. I hope it's a special way to thank everyone who shared our wedding, and those who sent us gifts from far away...

my birthday!

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It was my birthday this week, and I spent it in San Francisco. I went to the Asian Art Museum to see the Japanese art exhibition, and admired some lovely ceramics (this is a birthday peach from a Chinese plate),and some Japanese sculptures and painted screens.I walked through the civic centre and then on to the Hayes Valley to look at some pretty boutiques......and then in the evening we went to Sons & Daughters, a lovely little restaurant in Nob Hill. The service was delightful, the food exquisite. I drew each dish in the tasting menu as it came out...and took some photos of the colours and presentation. Yum in every way.

BEYØRG

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I worked with organic cosmetic company Beyørg (Beyond Organic) in HK this year, to create images they could use on promotional products, supporting the Breast Cancer Foundation charity.I drew pandas (cutest of all Asian animals) interacting with various ingredients from the cosmetics, such as acerola fruit, ginseng root, and white lupin flower. The illustrations also featured a farm element, as the client wanted to emphasise organic farming. I tried to make the pandas cute, but not too cute. They were used on packaging, and promotion for the brand.I  created a repeat pattern with the pandas along with some extra elements, and this was used on a patterned white umbrella. I love it! The umbrella is a limited edition gift item for customers in the shop, and will only be available until the end of August. There's also a cuddly panda...The products have been featured in various local magazines, along with a little about me. How nice!

London toile

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My London toile collection launched this week. There's a teaset with a perfectly pouring teapot...and I love these wider teacups and saucers, perfect for afternoon tea with a cucumber sandwich.The design is in blue, and made up of all my favourite London things: phone boxes, bobbies, corgies, fish & chips, teatime cakes, cabs, the Albert Hall, and more! I tried to include a few things that you might only get to know if you spent a little time there...There are also napkins and teatowels featuring the toile, and coming soon, some fun dinner plates. They are currently available exclusively at faux in HK. If you know someone who might like to sell them in London (ideal, really), please let me know!

Fish Market cookbook

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I've done some illustrations for Running Press in the States, for a book about how to choose, buy and prepare seafood. The cover looks like a market blackboard with chalky lettering and illustrations of today's catch.The drawings for the inside pages are pen and ink line. They were used reversed out for the inside cover.Inside I did drawings of each individual fish.There are also instructional illustrations, showing you how to do various prep things...If you're into seafood, I think this would be a great book to have! It's available from amazon.

mindful magazine

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I recently did some illustrations for mindful magazine in the US, and have just received a copy of the current issue. My illustrations are delicate calligraphic line drawings in white, over photography.The article was about listening out for everyday sounds. I tried to listen, and capture those little noises that I usually don't hear.I really enjoyed doing different sorts of lettering to match the kinds of sounds.They also featured a little sketch and mini interview with me on their contributor's page...

wedding loveliness

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Designing and illustrating for my own wedding has been a pleasure. Stressful, but full of joy too. I created all the stationery first, with a green/pink/brown/white colour palette, and occasional border of green watercolour leaves, and then carried this through all the wedding elements. Simplicity was the key to everything. The reception was held at the Black Barn, in Berkshire (UK), a huge barn on a working farm, and a delightful setting for a perfect day. They don't have many weddings there, and I was free to create everything just how I wanted it...My brother Kenji was in charge of the bar (he's a drinks specialist) and he created a welcome punch for the guests, with watermelon hearts on the glasses, and special cocktails for the evening. I made the signage for both in the wedding colours.My friend Karen made bunting out of different shaped paper doilies and green ribbon, which we hung inside and outside the barn. I had lots of fun with the flowers, which I bought from New Covent Garden market and arranged with my mum, in my personal collection of vintage bottles, jars, and white ceramic jugs. The interior of the barn still takes my breath away. I wanted it to be pretty, welcoming, and sparkling, and retain the essential "barn-ness" of the venue itself. To create a glowing atmosphere, I used festoon lights for the ceiling, hung by the amazing James and Chris of acdisco, and smaller pinlights from thinkgadgets for the columns. My friend Alvin, of YMK design, oversaw all the technical aspects of the styling and installation.

I painted the seating plan as vines with leaves, in the U shape of the table layout.In the entrance to the barn, photos hung on twine with wooden pegs (along with some framed photos of the bride & groom). Alvin took fun photos at the wedding with a mini polaroid camera, and these were also hung up for everyone to see.

On the opposite side of the entrance was the centre-piece of the reception: the cake table. Friends brought hand-made cakes, meringues and puddings, and my friend Anna styled the table to look irresistible.

I made hand-written doilie labels for the desserts, with the baker's name, aswell as the type of cake. I also made doilie candles in various heights, containing battery-operated tealights, for all the tables. Our official photographer Sonja Read took these beautiful photos of the cake table.

My dad made our gorgeous wedding cake; three tiers of homemade fruit cake heaven...At the end of the cake table was a mini sweet shop. Everything came from my favourite treat website, Chorley & Baker. We had sugared almonds, milk bottles, gummy hearts, and apple bon-bons, all chosen with the wedding colours in mind.My friend Alex at ChocoYou even made delicious little hand-made chocolates with an edible version of my vignette illustration on them!

My dad also made some lovely wine bottle labels, using elements of my illustrations. Each label had a portrait of us, and a quote about love.The amazing Street Kitchen provided the catering. They parked their airstream just outside the barn, and everyone went up to collect their food. For the main course, I used eco-friendly plates that matched the barn, that we could recycle,

and for the desserts, I gave each guest a personalised vintage side plate. They doubled as place settings and wedding favours, and were such fun to make.

I bought plates from Portobello market, thrift stores in San Francisco, and charity shops all over London, and then created a dotty calligaphy font in ceramic paint, which could be baked on, to become permanent.It was our dream wedding, and I'd like to thank everyone who helped us with all the planning, designing, installation and clean-up (especially Johan, our wonderful DJ friend). It simply wouldn't have been possible without the help of all our friends and family.

Everything was perfect, and I'm full of love for all of you...especially my adorable new husband.

honeymoon in Andalucia

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I've just come back from a lovely honeymoon in Spain. We did nothing much, and watched the world go by. We stayed for a week in a pretty cottage on the side of a hill full of olive groves,then another week in the village of Bubion in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We had a delightful garden overlooking the valley, and on good days, we could see the Meditarranean and even the mountains of Africa!There was one amazing day when the whole mountain was in the clouds, and everything looked a bit spooky and mysterious.I loved the greenery all around us, and started imagining my dream garden, full of fig trees, ferns, moss on the stones, and hanging roses...We also visited the Alhambra in Granada. It was wonderful to wander in the gardens, and explore the palaces. I especially liked the variety of mosaic tiles in all the rooms.Afterwards we sat in the late afternoon sun, and watched the walls of the Alhambra slowly changing colour.