Do What You Love

My Leeds City Guide has just been published on influential design blog design*sponge (eek! squeal of excitement!), featuring some of the city’s most famous places and spaces… The UK’s ‘Most Delicious Cupcake’ found and indulged at The Sunshine Bakery Writing a guide to your city might just be the best way of reminding yourself of all that is goodread more >>

… of a place where I could sit on a rocking chair, on an old wooden deck, looking out over the stillness of a lake … where I could think … listen … soak in nature … create … dive in* *literally, at 5am. It was icy but I felt so ALIVE I found that placeread more >>

Today’s Do What You Love interview is coming to you from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where I am recovering from four awesome days at the Squam art retreat.  Artwork and photos to follow after I have processed the details of a very special experience.  For now I want to share this interview with Jessica Gonacha Swift, a painter, surface patternread more >>

U S of A here I come! Time for some more adventures…

A visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park does wonders for the soul.  500 acres of stunning parkland, with internationally renowned sculptors’ work dotted here and there.  You can picnic by a Henry Moore, hide behind a Barbara Hepworth or get lost in the forest near the David Nash stairway.  You can even take an outdoorread more >>

(image courtesy of Tim Moss) Do you love adventure like I do? How about skiing to the South Pole?  Tim Moss fancies a go at it, but unlike most people who just dream about it, he is actually going.  In January he will be accompanied on his ‘Inspired by London 2012 South Pole Adventure’ by an Olympian (Derek Redmond),read more >>

This week I was visited by a wonderful old friend. She is exactly 12 years older than me which,  being one full cycle of the Chinese horoscope, is apparently very lucky When I first moved to Tokyo, a young stranger blinking in the bright lights of the big city, she gave me a place to sleep,  a fellow Englishread more >>

On days like this I feel very lucky to work from home - Sunshine, freshly baked gingernut biscuits cooling in the kitchen and a pot of tea by my side.  What better way to get in the right frame of mind for working on exciting business plans? There is a cute water feature surrounded by whiteread more >>

Sometimes great things seem to drop from the sky just when you need them.  This is one of those times. With huge good fortune I have been chosen as one of around 15 young female entrepreneurs to be part of a groundbreaking business mentoring programme run by a leading national glossy magazine here in theread more >>

Having recently been overwhelmed by kindness I have many thank yous to say right now.  There are many ways to say thank you, but I like the hand made way… Here are some of the cards I have been making in my new studio this week, using gorgeous ribbons from East of India, Tim Holtz’sread more >>