Arrived in Cape Town

I've been in Cape Town for two days and I'm having such an adventure already!

I arrived on Thursday evening after quite a tiring journey via Dubai and have been out and about with my amazing hosts since. On my first day we went out to Hermanus, the most stunning seaside town where we did a bit of whale-spotting. The sea was really rough and we had to run for cover as a cloud broke over us, but it was a magical first day. It's winter here so quite cold, but lovely to see the landscape in the off-season.

Yesterday we went to Woodstock, and had breakfast at the Biscuit Mill, which has been transformed into a buzzing collection of stalls selling artisan foods and handmade goodies. Some of the permanent shops like Kat Van Duinen's, contain some of the most beautiful clothing. There's loads to explore outside the Mill too, with a host of antiques stores selling quirky furniture, from repurposed old suitcases turned into padded seats, to traditional colonial wicker tables, and stuffed animals. It's quite an amazing mix.

I'm here for three or four months so this is just the beginning of a very exciting time! I hope to try out life here properly for the first time since we moved to England when I was a toddler. My passport and ID books arrived just last week, so I'm now officially a SA citizen, so I'll be hunting down some freelance work while I'm here too. I hope you'll join me as I find my way about, and give me any tips for things to do too.

Back soon!

Leaving Cambridge

My time in Cambridge is running out, and I'm starting to get nostalgic.

Having spent so long here it's easy to take for granted the stunning surroundings, as I trudge to work or battle through the swathes of tourists and language students on my lunch break. But it is an amazing city, and recently I had a chance to capture some of it for a little film I made for work. It was to show a European audience who'd never visited Cambridge what it looks like, so it's a little heavy with University stereotypes, but I'm afraid that's just what it's like here. Some days you feel like you could have stumbled into a film set.

I cannot take credit for all the footage, some was shot by colleagues at the University, but edited by me.

Midwives magazine

I've been totally neglecting this blog, but I thought I'd pop my head in, to post a couple of bits of work I've done for the Royal College of Midwives magazine. I've really enjoyed it.

I'm currently moonlighting in the Communications office at the University of Cambridge and it's really fun. I answer the phone to the press, and get to promote all the exciting research coming out of the University. Unfortunately it's not going to last forever, because I have a very exciting trip planned for the end of August.. I'm going to live in Cape Town for a few months! I can't wait. I'm going to do lots of illustration while I'm there and can't wait to see what a new environment does to my work.

A Merger

This is a little editorial piece I did for a facilities management magazine about companies merging. The chairs are based on Robin Day's 1950 design for Hille.

Knitting Typography

 

  

After teaching a summer school last year and having all my treasured vintage typography books go missing (it still hurts to think of it), I've been looking out for a source of vintage typography loveliness. And now I've found it...

I was going through another bag of the stuff that seems to make its way into my car after each trip to my parents' and this time it was my Granny's knitting patterns. The adverts in the back are great. Who wouldn't wear a twinset called "Patricia"? The lettering comes in all shapes and sizes and has me twitching for a dip-pen and ink session, studying and enlarging letterforms.

Caterpillars

I found these Victorian prints at the weekend and am really amused by how hairy South African caterpillars are. The chrysalis are weird and beautiful too. My Dad who will remember these from his childhood describes their hair and 'long and luxuriant', I don't know how luxuriant I find them, but they certainly look quite dapper. 

For the Lovers

I've been working on a silly project for fun.

I had this brilliant idea of how long-distance lovers could have a chute to hop down so they can see each other at bedtime, or to say good morning. I think they'd sell like hot cakes. I also wonder what the world would look like if it were covered in pipes like these. Obviously you'd want them to take up as little space as possible, and like, not block out any major landmarks. But you'd also want them to be fun to ride on and have loads of twists and turns, as you might have a long way to go...

Anyway, I think you'll agree it's a great idea.

Succulents

 

My little family of succulent plants are growing fast! I have them on my windowsill in front of my desk and they are just so weird, they're enough to distract me every day. Most of them are native to South Africa and I bought them online here - well worth a visit if you're interested. I can't stop looking at mine, they're so fleshy and bizarre. The plant at the top flowered a couple of months ago, and the bloom looked like an orange daisy, but within 24 hours had completely shrivelled up! Second from bottom is something called 'Baby Toes', and the tips of each toe are slightly see-thru. So weird!

Happy Circles

I'm noticing lots of circles at the moment and they're so cheery. A couple of lovely finds from a weekend in Bristol: vintage Heals fabric called 'Carnival' by Evelyn Redgrave, and The New Ghost by Robert Hunter, and finally something which I've been meaning to photograph since it was given to me at Christmas. It's a signed screenprint by the legendary Alan Fletcher. It kind of blows my mind that I own this..

A little Show

Goodness me, it's been a while since I thought about blogging. Life has been busy and nice. I hope you  had a lovely Easter break.

I am part of a little exhibition at the Cambridge Art Salon that opens tomorrow night. Eleven of us who work for the Fitzwilliam Museum in one way or another are having a really eclectic exhibition, and they're all lovely people so it's been fun setting up today. I've done a little new piece called Making and Doing which has been jolly nice to do. It's a collection of everyday tasks and things that I do with my hands that I felt like illustrating. So in the likely event you are unable to make it due to geographical reasons, this is what the piece looks like!

I'm also in the process of putting together a book of drawing activities that I ran last year for the Big Draw, so it's an interesting time getting to grips with InDesign and looking at as many 1960s modular grid layouts as possible! In case you are interested in trying to teach yourself to do this sort of thing, I would thoroughly recommend starting with this website which had me slapping my head and saying "of course!" lots of times. Good design is fascinating.

New Work

I've been working on a nice little commission from a religious education group to promote RE in schools. Let's face it, it's always nice to get a 60s bob into a project.

Wire letters

I designed a letter S for a poster recently and then thought it would be interesting to see what the other letters looked like. I wanted to make them all a bit funny on the eyes, deliberately messing around with how the 3D-ness works and I quite like them. 

Happy New Year

Have a wonderful start to 2013! We survived the Mayan apocalypse, hurrah! Here's to the start of a new era.