Emerging again 🦋✨
and notes from a trip to London 💌
Hello! It’s been a little while since I last wrote, having had a few months break since getting married in the autumn. For the time being I’ve decided to keep this publication entirely free, to give myself more freedom to write when I feel like it. There’s lots of other writing and illustrating going on in the background, and I want this newsletter to remain a joyful space for me, one that I’m excited to write, rather than out of any kind of duty.
This is an idea that interests me: anything we can do to keep our creativity alive and fun, we should move towards that. The more like play and less like work it can feel, the better.
I’m returning home from the most wonderful few days spent in London, a trip that seems to have reignited a spark of inspiration inside me. This is unexpected to say the least, as in all honesty in recent years I had begun to dread any visits to big cities. I’m so used to a slower pace of life, tucked away in our witchy cottage in Devon, that it can be incredibly overwhelming stepping off the platform in Paddington to be met with swarms of people. I find myself increasingly on edge when walking around alone in London, terrified something bad is about to happen - something that rarely crossed my mind when I lived there in my early twenties.
But this time was different.
I’m not sure if it was because I’m a lot more protective and intentional with how I use my time these days, and have learnt not to cram everything in at once, but I’m leaving with a love for London that I haven’t felt in years.
A little run through of all the things I did in London, that made my soul happy:
Having a little time to myself scheduled in. I’m a big believer that time alone is soo good for the creative soul, and wandering around by myself for the afternoon with no real plan in mind felt like the biggest treat. I found myself lost on Elizabeth Street, an amazing place for people watching: glamorous women dressed in winter coats with rouge lipstick, men in suits having lunch outside the brasseries, mothers with little girls choosing iced cupcakes from the counter in the Peggy Porschen tearoom. I wandered into Sky McAlpine’s beautiful homeware shop, the perfect place for window shopping, especially at Christmas time. She has a lovely new book about Christmas out too, filled with recipes, crafts and traditions to make the season extra special.
Playing dress up. Across the road from Sky McAlpine, I stumbled across the most beautiful shop, If Only If Nightwear. I was aware of their beautiful old fashioned nighties from spotting them online, but had no idea they had a real shop, too. The shop itself was just as gorgeous as the nighties themselves, and I spent the loveliest half hour in here playing dress up, draping myself in the buttery material and prints in every colour. A reminder that it’s just as fun to look sometimes, even if you don’t end up purchasing something.
Stationery. I’m glad I did save my money though, because while I was very restrained in the clothes shops, as usual I couldn’t resist letting rip when it came to the stationery. I headed over to Choosing Keeping, arguably the most magical stationery shop in London. I LOVE stationery shops. I could get lost in them for hours, and all of the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end at the sight of the materials - the little square black sketchbooks, the tins of freshly sharpened colour pencils. I’d definitely recommend coming here at Christmas, as they have an incredible tree decorated with the most wonderful ornaments, and a beautiful selection of cards. I did a little haul of everything I bought at the stationery shop here.
New books. After bleeding myself dry in the stationery shop, I ambled down the road to Foyles bookshop, where I spent a happy half hour leafing through the book covers. This always helps me with inspiration for illustrating my own book covers, especially when thinking about areas I still struggle in, like lettering. It’s also interesting to see which authors, illustrators, publishers and agents work together, and keep an eye on the themes that are popular in the book world. I treated myself to the next instalment on Laurie Colwin, her novel Happy All the Time. Last week I gobbled up Another Marvellous Thing, my first Laurie Colwin, and adored it. I love her writing style, and it’s officially got me out of my reading slump (the only way to do this is to find a book you just can’t wait to get back to). There’s a real cosiness to her writing, and her characters and setting feel to me like they’re infused with old school New York. They have beautiful covers too; I love the simplicity to them, the fact they’re hand painted, and of course the colour palette! 💕 I can’t wait to slowly collect the set, and have a full collection.
Having a cosy night in. On Thursday I cosied up with my best friend in our matching striped pyjamas from my wedding. We ordered our favourite pizza from the same place we used to order from when we lived together in our early twenties, and watching the film Carol. Although it’s not technically a Christmas film, Carol is a beautiful film to watch in December, being set in the holidays. The way it’s is shot makes it feel like an old movie, rather than a new one pretending to be, and it has a beautiful colour palette: snow covered New York, and Cate Blanchett always dressed in either head to toe or little pops of red.
Marvelling at the beauty of London at Christmas. It’s without a doubt the best time to visit, and as I wondered round I couldn’t help feeling as though I was viewing the city through a 90s lens of nostalgia. It felt like stepping back in time - the wreaths on the coloured doors, the children walking to school in their winter coats, the twinkly lights wrapped around the trees. Everything just felt magical, and exciting.
Discovering new pockets of the city. On Friday Ted and I travelled over to stay with some friends in Barnes, and I think this might be my new favourite part of London. It has a cosy, neighbourhood feel to it, and spending time there made me realise that it’s possible to do lots of my favourite things when I’m in a city, too. I went for a run along the river, watching the rowers on the water and the sun rising in the crisp blue sky. We went for sausage sandwiches at the farmers market, and a long walk in Richmond Park. We watched a film back at home, and went for a candlelit pub dinner with mulled wine. The pubs, too - London pubs are amazing at Christmas time.
I think my favourite thing about this trip, though, was the conversations. I went for an artist date with my old school friend Elle, to see the Women in Print exhibition at the William Morris Gallery - one of the prettiest galleries in London, I think. We wandered round the grounds and took a perch on a bench, talking about life, our work and our dreams for the new year, and each pulled a tarot card from Elle’s deck. Later in Barnes, Ted’s friend asked him to be his best man, and we stayed up late singing Christmas songs into wooden spoons in the kitchen. Making memories with the people we love; this is the stuff of life. Although I’m at my happiest in our little bubble in Devon, trips like these make me realise how important it is step out of that sometimes - to re-enter the world and engage with people, conversation and life in a different way. It’s so beneficial as an artist to shake up your routine and environment every once in a while, and the results can be quite startling. There really is no place like home, and I’m so happy to be back in our cottage, ready to retreat into my hermit shell for a little while. But I’ve returned fizzing with ideas and excitement, ready to make new work.
Loved this and I can’t wait to visit some of your recommendations while in London next week! ✨