Christmas Open Studio and SALE: 9 & 10 December 2023
The Camberwell Open Studios Weekend on 9-10 December is the perfect Christmas shopping opportunity to purchase art and beautifully made objects direct from local artists and designers. Whether you’re looking to explore behind the scenes of workshops that are not...
Lambeth Open Studios Weekend: 7 & 8 October 2023
I'm delighted to be opening my studio to the public together with two very talented invited artists on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October, as part of the Lambeth Open Weekend. This is annual event that celebrates the diversity and colour of our wonderful South London...
A visit to Casa Azul part I: Frida Kalho’s studio
One of the main highlights of my recent visit to Mexico city was spending a whole afternoon wandering round Casa Azul, the building in Coyoacán where Frida Kalho was born and and lived until her death at 47. Frida's extraordinary life is captured within the walls of...
Collecting images – still life
This is a mostly visual post, where I just want to share some images with you. I recently spent a few days in a very beautiful country house, and was captivated by some of the objects found in and around different rooms, as I felt these reflected the stillness of the...
Josef Frank at The Fashion & Textile Museum
On a grey February day, the unabashed colours and energetic shapes that characterise Josef Frank's patterns provided a welcome contrast with the outside, and it was a pleasure to walk into the Fashion and Textile Museum to visit this compact showcase of Frank's...
A few pages from my sketchbooks
My sketchbooks are where I play and try out ideas that may later find their way into my work. I often refer back to them no matter how long ago they were completed, and always find some inspiration - or even surprises and insights. The pages you can see here come from...
On the sources and uses of inspiration
I am often asked how I use my inspiration. This partly depends where I am or what time of the day it is - I often get flashes of inspiration just as I’m about to fall asleep, or in my dreams! When that happens, I know I’ll remember them when I wake up and they’ll be a...
Transform a Bekvam stool: decoupage tutorial
In this post I will show you how to transform a wooden Bekvam stool from Ikea into your own unique creation using just paint, paper and glue. This is a very easy project that can be done in an afternoon.Here is what you'll need:Bekvam stool, £13A tester pot of...
My life in nine objects: part III
This is my third and final post about prized objects: the ones I couldn't live without and would want to save from a fire. It was quite difficult to choose these three knowing they were the last ones; I kept telling myself they are just the last ones for now... The...
My life in nine objects: part II
In last week's post I wrote about the first three objects I wouldn't want to lose, the ones I would save from a fire. Today I share with you another three of my prized posessions: things I love for their intrinsic qualities and also as memory-holders. The first one is...
My life in nine objects: part I
A lot of my work is inspired by memories, and I see prized objects as memory-holders. Every once in a while I wonder which are the ones I couldn't live without, the ones I would want to save from a fire. Without much premeditation I settled on nine, and today I share...
My own version of wallpaper
In this post I want to share with you my biggest decoupage project to date: creating "wallpaper" from the pages of an old Larousse dictionary for a feature wall I moved house last year, and had been toying with the idea of creating a decoupage "wallpaper" on...
Pound shop transformations: upcycled glass
In recent weeks I showed you how I upcycle simple items from Ikea using just paper and glue. Other places where you can find interesting things to transform are the "pound shops" found in most high streets. I recently started teaching reverse decoupage on glass so I'm...
Ikea furniture hacks: kitchen chair
This is the second of two posts on furniture hacks where I share transformations of simple items from Ikea using just paper and glue. Last time, in the first of my furniture hacks, I showed you how I upcycled a Hemnes bedside table; this time it's different versions...