Last Monday I was nominated by the lovely Mel Wiggins to take part in a blog hop. Bloggers get to tell people a bit about themselves and then recommend some of their favourite bloggers to their readers, nominate them to take part and the hop continues. Wheeee!

 

1. What have been the doings/makings/scribblings at your desk this week?

This week I’ve got some projects to work on for clients. One of which is a Christmas shoot. It’s July. It’s 25 degrees outside and I’m not in the mood! It is fun though to gather festive props and we have a beautiful location house to style for the shoot. I always love being in and snooping around other people’s homes (not in a creepy way). As well as that, I have a couple of DIYs to get up here on the blog and still have a list of things to complete in the flat. Most rooms are now finished but there are a lot of annoying little jobs that need to be completed before it’s really finished. I’ll also be making my daily trips to the post office every day this week to post print orders from the online shop. Getting up the massive hill to the post office really is a struggle as I seem to have the heaviest bike in the world. Whizzing back down the hill really is the best.

2. Where are you currently finding your inspiration? (Influences, heroes, sources of inspiration, paths exploring)?

I’m always on when I have spare time and when I’m needing a little inspiration boost. My board is my favourite thing to look at. It’s great when I’m looking for colour ideas for new print designs or for colour schemes for shoots and my home. I don’t read nearly as many magazines as I’d like to. One of my favourites is Apartamento.

“For too many people, being happy at home is pretty much an abstract idea, something they can’t know or imagine, until it appears on some taste maker’s must-have list, or in a magazine, or reposted on Tumblr. A home sweet home is not curated or produced by acquiring a perfect arrangement of chairs, lamps and friends. A real living space is made from living, not decorating. A bored materialist can’t understand that a house has to become a home. It happens, not through perfection but by participation.”

Being a stylist, you might think this magazine goes against everything I stand for, but it really is a great publication with some really  inspiring interviews.

3. How important is being creative to you, and how do you blend this with your work / life / family balance?

Being creative is my job so it’s kind of all I do and all I am, all the time. I design and make things to sell in my shop and I design and style products for clients. I also feel very strongly about making my home a beautiful place for us to be so I’m always making and DIYing for the flat as well. My boyfriend John is a furniture maker and visual stylist so when there’s something creative to do in the flat we can often do it together which is nice, even if there are a few disagreements over how it looks / where it’s to be placed in the flat!

I do switch off (I LOVE going on holidays!), but I can’t just sit around doing nothing or just lie in front of the tv (we don’t have a tv for a start). If I don’t have something to do I get very antsy and need to start a new project or make something. Even if it’s as simple as making my next Instagram post a bit more stylish or rearranging my plants, I need to keep creatively active. It’s probably a good trait to have being self employed!

And here are my blog recommendations. Pop over and say hello to these ladies…

 

Carrie Maclennan (notthekindofgirlyoudmarry)

Carrie is my buddy and we used to run a shop and organise events together in Glasgow. She’s a writer and has a cool cat named Bruce. Take a look to see what she’s been up to!

Rachel Basinger (ohnorachio)

Rachel is a designer and illustrator and her blog is full of some beautiful photos and great stories, projects and recipes.