babanangu

gelato + douglas

Some quick pink love from Bologna: Pompelmo rosa gelato (amazing!) and dark chocolate (better). They don't go together; they're two separate heavens. And a bike called Douglas. I think my pink-phobia is officially over.

Skrikkel

Hi, hello cause it's the 29th of Feb and a good day to share the very exciting news that my name is on this list (look for the South Africans)! More on that soon. In the meantime here's a cheeky llama and a tiny collage I made called Tiger Rabbits.

PS Look how beautiful Dan Pearson's work is. Landscape designers (and paediatricians) give me serious career envy. Hearing him talk about his collaborative Tokachi Millennium Forest project at the Design Indaba this morning was extra special. x

weight

holiday reads

From Day 2 and Day 7

I’d like to share two books I read over the Summer break that have really stuck with me and that I look forward to reading again in a couple of years. They’re the kind of stories that will give you something new each time you revisit.

The first is Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides in which the imagery kind of blew me away and although I appreciated the film adaptation very much it just doesn’t come close to the loaded sentences on these pages.

Matthew bought The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes as a Christmas gift to my mom. We chose it for her because it won the Man Booker last year and … we both loved the typesetting and typography on the cover. It's a quick, surprising read and leaves plenty to discuss. I was really slow to notice it at first but I think the ambiguity in the title really nailed it.

I snapped them with a collection of finds, drinks and gifts from my December beach holiday which was almost too good to be true thanks to my wonderful parents and M.

Things I make when I need to interrupt myself

my little pony

Those pony-legs are impossibly stumpy but I think his golden mane makes up for it.

Hello February! What, the 3rd already?

midweek

I'm trying to concentrate...

Joy

I hardly know how to describe the immense joy, surprise and gratitude that was felt discovering these delightful creatures on our beach Christmas tree.

Weihnachten

1 tree planted for every artwork sold

A mixed media group show at Salon 91 contemporary in association with Greenpop.
It looks like work is already flying off the walls but the show will be up until the 14th of January. Amble up Kloof street if you're in Cape Town over the holidays and remember to check out Steven Miedema's beautiful vertical garden in the gallery window.

Oh and Greenpop will make sure a tree is planted for every artwork sold. Grand!

bird watch

working in flamingo company this evening

the best kind

last saturday, two good women

Sunday

A week in Johannesburg reminded me of my 'green pool' undergrad illustrations (a theme perhaps not yet exhausted). It's a spooky city and I love it.

pretzel ponies

the wilderness downtown

Elle Deco Spring Issue (page 24)

Have you bought a copy of Elle Deco South Africa's Spring Issue?
Get it because its good. I am more than a bit in love with their features on Karen Suskin's Noordhoek house
and textile designer Akira Minagawa's home near Tokyo.

And... turn to page 24 where there's a little bit of me!
No, not The X-Factor bit (I know I'm pointing a little awkwardly in the picture) but Little Wonders - isn't that sweet?
Thanks Elle Deco SA!

Read my interview here.

The illustration above is called 'formative books' - I painted tiny watercolour book covers from stories I loved in my teens.

paper city

I'm trying out new media. Well, old media in new ways. Unfortunately this little paper city got squashed, but I'm working on a bigger, better one...

Good Heavens, Red.

Matthew produced a beautiful collection of Good Heavens reds while I was away. We had fun naming them: Philly, Roger, Queenstown and Roffey. They're listed on Etsy, have a look.
(If you are in South Africa and interested in buying,
contact us directly: info@goodheavens.co.za)