My little Cat + Jug etching is currently up in Fayes Gallery in the Mission in San Francisco as part of their Cats vs Dogs exhibition.
I love taking part in group shows, and this one is particularly fun!
Hope you can pop in if you’re in the area. It’s up until August 10th.
While I was in the UK, by chance I was able to attend a whistle-making workshop by the wonderful Emma Carlow. I’ve admired her whistles for ages and couldn’t believe I would get the chance to make one of my own!
*that’s me at the table behind Emma!
We made two whistles, learning how to make the hollow body and blowing attachment and then shaping the whistles into birds, and finally painting them.
I made long birds, and now wish I had added legs! The whistles were left with Emma for firing, and I can’t wait to see how they turn out.
I spent a little time wandering around the pretty town of Lewes while I was there, it was a perfect Summer day!
If you get a chance to do one of Emma’s workshops, I would 100% recommend.
This week I spent 3 days in Paris. I realised I haven’t actually been for over 10 years, which is ridiculous as it’s so easy to get to from London. I met my friend Aude and we visited a few exhibitions together and relaxed and walked everywhere. This is a picture of the installation by Celeste Boursier-Mougenot at the Bourse De Commerce. It was stunning. We went at the end of the day and captured a few moments of stillness when there were no other visitors.
I did some sketching with pens and colour pencils, capturing fleeting views from cafes in the heat.
And of course there were lots of delightful meals. This dessert is called a religieuse, 2 choux pastries filled with ganache. Sublime. The icecream is from the hipster bar/icecream parlour Folderol. It was mugicha flavour and very refreshing.
We visited several art shops, which felt somehow historical, and I treated myself to this lovely little watercolour palette from Charvin. I was able to switch out 6 of the colours to make this unusual collection.
I tried to do quick sketches, without worrying too much about detail, as a sort of drawing practice…
We went to see the newly rebuilt Notre Dame Cathedral. I love that Parisians just sit outside, on benches or outside cafes, casually chatting with each other for hours and hours in the warm Summer weather. We sat, looked at the light changing on the cathedral, and sketched.
There were so many iconic views of Paris wherever I looked. It truly is a beautiful city, and I already can’t wait to go back.
Last week I went with my parents on a mini-holiday to East Sussex. It was the perfect Summer weather, sunny but not too hot, and the countryside was lush and green everywhere.
We stayed in a delightful place called the Grain Store, near Lewes, which was modern and spacious and had spectacular views across the South Downs National Park.
We visited the coast and ate fish and chips, and shared them with the seagulls.
I did a sketch of the unusually turquoise sea!
The most beautiful moments were walking along the South Downs Way. I was absolutely stunned by the beauty of the rolling hills and waving grasses. I want to come back and walk more of it…
On the way back we stopped in at Monk’s House, which used to be Virginia Wolff’s country house, and is now run by the National Trust. It was delightful, and wonderful to see her little wooden studio in the garden where she wrote most of her famous works.
It’s not far from where my parents live, but felt like a real holiday away.
In celebration of World Environment Day, COPE Disaster Champions officially launched its newest book in back-to-back events at the 8th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction on June 5th. Here is the COPE team on the stand in Geneva with our book!
The main message of the book is ACT NOW FOR TOMORROW, which encourages children (and adults) to take small, meaningful steps that could help slow down climate change and build resilience for the future.
Below is the COPE stand at the GP2025 and also Martha Keswick speaking on the Ignite Stage about all the COPE books.
The book was developed in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization, UNDRR, the Oxford University, and with contributions from global experts and young people — including UNICEF East Asia and Pacific’s Youth Action Team.
I was extremely proud to be at the presentation of the Climate Change book at the WMO head office, and to meet Professor Saulo, the Secretary General of the WMO. What an inspiring lady!
We also gave a presentation of the Climate Change book and all the previous COPE books alongside the WMO and Save the Children.
I sketched while we presented, and also when we watched everyone else presenting. It was incredibly informative and moving.
You can see more photos from all the events COPE attended here.
I even managed to have a few hours to explore the city a little, and had lunch at this lovely little cafe in the park.
It was a wonderful, inspirational visit, and I can’t wait to see what COPE does next!
I’ve just arrived in England, the sun is out and summer is here and my parents’ garden is in full bloom…
I love birds, and I especially love drawing them. We often go for walks along the Bay Shore here in San Francisco and there are so many wonderful waterbirds to spot, and they occasionally find their way into the things I make…
I’m not a bird-spotter (yet) so I don’t know their names on sight, but I try to record the birds I see.
This is a bookmark with waterbirds that I donated to the Bookmark Project this year, that raised money for charity. I just found out that they bid on it themselves to keep it in their permanent archive!
We spent the weekend just north of San Francisco in the beautiful little town of Stinson Beach. I managed one sketch, but mostly spent the time relaxing…
We found a tiny little place to stay, with a cozy seaside vibe. We could hear the waves in the nighttime.
I love the sand dunes and the way the light dances on the shifting sands at different times of day.
We ate breakfast on the beach, watching the waves, and wandered along the water’s edge at sunset.
In Bolinas Lagoon there were seals playing in the morning, and in the evening they all bundled up together for a nap!
Staying so close to the beach meant we could just pop there whenever we felt like it, and I loved seeing the moon rise over the dunes…
I always enjoy the red (this year blue) carpet moments for big celebrity events, and this year’s Met Gala was super fun.
The theme was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style and it was great to see really over the top men’s fashion for a change.
The hosts were fun to watch, I especially liked Teyana Taylor’s look in red.
I sketched my way through the whole event, trying to capture as many outfits as possible.
Some were ridiculous (Demi Moore as a tie) and most were glamorous.
Can’t wait for next year!
I got my nails done twice in Hong Kong, a wonderful extravagance! I love having nails that are interpretations of my own work.
I took this mokuhanga print I made in to the wonderful Alian at NailUps and she created this green and pink design for me.
Before I went to Japan I asked for a pink sakura design, taken from my Japan Toile ceramic collection, and she created a silver and pink wonder.
Alian paints everything by hand with the finest paintbrushes you can imagine, it’s truly like magic. I’m already thinking of what I’d like for next time…
I stopped in Hong Kong for a few days before heading home to California; a few more meetings, a few more ceramic samples checks, and a few more nice meals with friends. I walked everywhere, and even managed a wander through the botanical gardens, where I sketched some of the birds.
Meals in HK are always a treat, and I try to go to few new places every visit, to try a few new dishes, as well as my favourites…
I checked in on the progress of my new ceramics. I’m loving the green and gold of the new Hong Kong Toile collection.
Hong Kong at night always shines: I love the lights, the neon and just strolling around soaking it all in…
Part of our trip to Japan was reserved for Star Wars Celebration, the huge convention, held every couple of years for fans. We got tickets for it way before we even booked our flights. There was was just so much to see, and over 100,000 people there, it was incredible.
I sketched in the panels we went to, and even managed to sketch some of the cosplayers. I traded my sketches for merch: apparently trading like this is a tradition at Star Wars Celebration.
The cosplay was next level - some of the costumes were exact replicas, but I loved the ones that took Star Wars and mashed that up with Japanese influence, or their own fun versions. Everyone was there to see and be seen, and so happy to pose for photographs.
I especially loved the little miniatures display of artwork by Tanaka Tatsuya, making dioramas of Star Wars using everyday objects.
We watched animations, saw Anthony Daniels and caught a glimpse of Hayden Christiansen. We bought all sorts of Grogu merch, ate Chewbacca-styled yakisoba and I actually learned alot of Star Wars culture and history I didn’t know. We would definately do this again!
This week we spent a few days exploring Kamakura. It’s such a beautiful town, although the sheer number of visitors, both local and international, was a bit overwhelming. We did manage to find a few quieter spots, which was lovely. The first was in the grounds of the Hachimangu temple, where the peonies were in perfect bloom. I sketched some of the incredible flowers…
Each peony bush was protected from the sun by a paper parasol, and with the backdrop of perfectly blossoming sakura trees it was like a dream.
We also visited Sugimoto temple, the oldest in Kamakura. It has lovely mossy steps and a quiet atmosphere. I loved the designs of the paper labels on the insides of the structures - signs of visitors long past.
The cherry blossom was blooming at its peak, and we walked along the longest avenue of sakura I have ever seen.
And no visit to Kamakura is complete with seeing the big buddha at Kotoku-in. We made it all the way there, but couldn’t face the sheer number of tourists, so we said hello through the gate, and decided to walk along the beach instead…
It was a lovely visit, and I especially enjoying going on both the old-fashioned Enoden train line, and the retro-futuristic monorail!
We just spent the week in the most beautiful house we’ve ever stayed in. We have been living in Hayama, next to Kamakura, south of Tokyo, and I enjoyed it thoroughly: it’s relaxed, friendly, and somehow cosy. I set up this area to draw in, and was super productive. I’d love my own studio to be like this one day!
Every room in the house was thoughtfully designed, preserved and made comfortable. I truly didn’t want to leave… If you ever feel like spending some time in Hayama, I recommend it! You can book directly with them here.
We walked along the beach and coast in various places at different times of the day, and it was always stunning. Even in the rain.
We went out for many delicious local meals…
…and we drove further down the coast to Miura, and visited the dramatic Jogashima coastline. The geology is so wonderful, I wish I knew more about it! So much to discover all the time in Japan.
I’ve been in Japan for a week and wherever we go, have been loving seeing the sakura burst into bloom. There are so many kinds, in all different tones of white to pink, and even on the rainiest day, looking at cherry blossoms makes me feel lucky to be alive.
I’ve just spent a week in Hong Kong, enjoying the temperate weather (for a change) and getting lots of meetings in. I always walk around the city and see my products in store, and this time I even caught my HK toile teapot in use in someone’s home…
My favourite views in HK are looking down across the city, and looking out from the Star Ferry…
As usual, I managed to fit in lots of wonderful meals - dim sum, the newly Michelin star bib-gourmanded black sesame icecream, and some fusion HK local treats.
I visited the shiny new HK Stadium, which looks like an alien spaceship!
…and was absolutely fascinated by the replica Kowloon Walled City exhibited at the new Airside Mall.
I love HK at night, it has some sort of magic. I’ll be back again soon…
Last weekend I went to a wonderful craft night at someone’s house and spent the evening sketching and chatting.
It’s always relaxing to draw with no purpose in mind, just looking and creating randomly. It’s like stretching muscles that have not been used for a while.
I really should sketch more! When I travel it’s so easy, seeing new and interesting things everyday, but when I’m working at home, I need to make the time. 2025 goals.
The exclusive members wine club 67 Pall Mall recently launched their newest book ‘Wine & the Food of Asia’. The book explores how you can pair wines with Asian cuisine, and I created illustrated maps for each of the chapters.
I worked with the book’s designer Lawrence Morton to devise a layout where I could show the countries in the map in each chapter, with featured cities, and also illustrate some of the foods representative of those places.
It is a beautiful hefty book, full of gorgeous photographs, as well as my maps.
I thoroughly enjoyed researching the foods from all these countries, and illustrating in a loose drawn style to capture the flavours of dishes and ingredients as much as possible.
Working around the gutter of the book was a challenge, as I had to keep anything important out of the middle of the map. I really enjoyed creating the pattern of the sea that is all hand painted in watercolour!
As well as ingredients and finished dishes, I researched the tools and equipment used in Asian cooking, and had fun playing with the shapes and textures of these objects.
I also subtly reflected each region in the border design I made for each map. I researched local textiles and ceramics to come up with a pattern that would be representative but not too specific.
The first maps I created had lines around the country borders to give more definition, and darker colours on the backgrounds of each country, but these were eventually removed to make the maps more minimal. Here’s the original Japan/Korea map with darker colours.
I hope the book is a success! I loved making these maps.
I designed a brand new Toile Collection exclusively for inside, a boutique in Hong Kong and Singapore and it’s available in stores now.
Currently there is a teapot, teacups and saucers, Chinese teacups, mugs and teatowels, with more items in the future…
I created the design to feel tropical and urban, classical and modern, just like Singapore. I used colours inspired by traditional Singapore shophouses.
The design features local buildings, wildlife and tasty treats. I think it’s the prefct gift for anyone who has lived in or visited this wonderful city!
We went to see the play Cuckoo Edible Magic yesterday and had an incredible time. I laughed so much I absolutely loved it!
It’s always tricky to draw in the dark, but I give it a go and hopefully capture something of the actors’ movements and characteristics…
