WE ALL HAVE A STORY TO TELL
WHERE IT STARTED
My Grandpa was the gentlest man, here we are at our village carnival sometime in the 80’s. I inherited from him many things you cannot touch, but something I could physically hold, a bundle of maps and postcards led me down a wonderful creative path.
It began with the old postcards, playing, cutting and arranging simple silhouettes. Following an intensely brilliant year at Leeds College of Art then a conceptual Fine Art degree, I was excited to finally be heading down a creative road which felt right for me.
BIRDS
I’m pretty keen on birds, well hugely keen, and I’m instinctively drawn to shapes in nature, particularly birds from the British Isles.
This is me in my favourite place at the top of Morecambe Bay in Silverdale looking out for Curlew, Oystercatcher and many more species besides.
Passionate about bird conservation, I hope to spark curiosity about wildlife and raise awareness about species decline through my work.
FIRST DESIGN
This is the first card design I made using my Grandpa’s postcard collection, I named it ‘Blue Tit Thief’.
When I was a kid you’d sometimes discover a hole pecked in the foil lid of your milk. I still get my milk delivered in glass bottles but these modern Blue Tits haven’t caught on that they can steal my milk.
Which I’m sort of glad and sad about all at the same time.
WHERE YOU’LL FIND ME
Usually in my ‘second home’ - a studio space within an historic textile mill in Huddersfield that I have been happily creating in since 2011.
Alternatively, you may find me out and about, binoculars in hand exploring any landscape that might be good for birds and other wildness!
creating work with connection
bespoke MAP art
I connect with nature in a way that helps me make sense of things, it brings me opportunities to learn, reasons to protect and it gives me the solace I need when things get too much.
I LOVE creating work which brings elements of these things together. I can produce a special piece incorporating an old map which has a connection for you and bring it to life within one of my simple nature-inspired silhouettes.
ENVIRONMENT
All my products are made in the UK using FSC-sourced paper. The giclee prints for our bespoke prints are printed in a local village and the mounts are made in the mill around the corner, I can literally walk there. All the envelopes and biodegradable packaging in my products are made by Eco-craft in Lancashire - a brilliant recycled paper specialist.
Photo credit: Tim Smith 2024
