New Camera

I've been meaning to post something about some of the pictures I've been taking for a while. A couple of months ago I bought a new camera, a Nikon D3100, an SLR camera, to take decent product shots with. I've really enjoyed learning how to take photographs properly. Over the past eleven years, since I got my first digital point and shoot camera, I've been used to doing just that: pointing and shooting. I rarely took my camera out and about with me, just using it document my work and take pictures of my work to put in my Etsy shop. I've not used an SLR camera since about 1999 when I was doing my art foundation course.


My new camera has been a bit of a revelation. I've taken it almost everywhere and have started viewing the world somewhat differently. As a designer, I think always been observant and often notice details and colour, but now I've really started looking around thinking about what would make a good photo.


I've experimented with a few different subjects and took the camera out a couple of times on the hottest day of the year - to Brockwell Park in the afternoon when it was very sunny and in the evening. The photographs I'm most pleased with were taken at dusk in Herne Hill close to where I live. I don't have a tripod so I had to hold the camera very still. I like the spookiness of these uninhabited spaces, these are places I walk past almost every day and don't really take much notice of them, but at night they look different, illuminated by street lighting.

Dog in Brockwell Park

Alley way near the train station in Herne HIll

 Herne Hill Station

Tower block near Herne Hill Station

 Pedestrian tunnel at Herne Hill Station

 Leaves in Brockwell Park

Brockwell Park

Leather and semi precious stone jewellery

I've always really enjoyed designing and making jewellery and have loads of semi precious beads and little bits of leather waiting to be made into something new. I got a little bit carried away and made loads...

I really wish I had a laser cutter though because my hands were a bit sore after all the cutting out...

Tri Circle Square Exhibition

A while ago a friend, who is a knitwear designer, suggested we hold a collaborative exhibition together with some other fashion and textile designers and a photographer: Clara Jones, Andrea Wardrop and Lucy Eggleton  Tri Circle Square was held at the Colour Makes People happy store in East Dulwich.

A limited palette of a pale blue, fleshy pink, bright acidic yellow and an almost fluorescent orange/pink were chosen and we decided to base our ideas on three shapes: triangle, circle and square. Because our work is is very different it was a brilliant idea to have a unifying colour palette and theme. I made a selection of jewellery, bags and illustrations...

A week before the exhibition Ed Walker took some photographs of some of the work that was included in the show. This was the first time my bags had been photographed on a model and I was really pleased with the results. More pictures from the shoot can be found here.

Mixed media drawing.

Some drawings developed from the tiny synesthesia sketchbook. Mixed media on water colour paper using graphite, semi transparent paper, fineliner, pencil...

These drawings are A4, but could be developed into larger compositions or ideas for suface decoration for leather.

Another sketchbook

Some pages from a textile sketchbook with mixed media imagery based on natural forms using monoprint, water colour and fine liners. I wanted to do something that was bold like Marimekko and influenced by my synesthesia drawings. I'd like to develop these further into a combination of screen print, embroidery and applique on leather.

Working textile design sketchbook

Here are some pages from the sketchbook I have been using on and off for the past three years to help generate ideas for the accessories I make.
 There are a few fashion illustration ideas in there and some drawings of birds and a fawn that were never developed into anything...