Picture books, paper goods & pretty things.
"Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong."
Oh lovely Ella. It would have been her 100th birthday this week so I wanted to share a song of hers. I remember a holiday in Spain where we played her albums over and over and lazed by the pool and it was just perfect. Her rhythm and improvisation in this performance is just wonderful. Enjoy!
"You can go a lot of different directions from being nothing." - Iggy Pop
Well, this is just wonderful. Last weekend, Mary Anne Hobbs interviewed Iggy Pop for his 70th birthday celebrations and the result is a conversation full of wit, wisdom, creativity and that wonderful voice. Put aside 30 minutes and enjoy.
Iggy Pop chats to Mary Anne Hobbs, Iggy Pop's (Extended) Seventieth Birthday Celebrations, Mary Anne Hobbs - BBC Radio 6 Music
Mary Anne Hobbs speaks to 6 Music presenter and music icon Iggy Pop.
The Being Freelance podcast really inspires me. It's run by Steve Folland who chats to creatives about how they make being freelance work for them. I like listening to the episodes when I'm walking or commuting. Today I listened to an episode from October 2016 in which Steve chatted with Sarah Tasker, a Yorkshire based freelancer who has built a very successful career using Instagram. A great listen if you are just starting out on your creative journey or want to grow your creative business.
A little bit of sweetness today. I really like the simplicity of The Dogist Twitter account. So many ideas for characters.
I was lucky enough to be working in New York last month. What a town! I had no idea how much I would love it. One of the places we visited was the Ace Hotel. I had read it was a place where writers, film makers and artists go for meetings and to work on their projects and sure enough the lobby was full of creative types chattering around MacBooks. I loved the feel of the hotel and all the little details in everything. It made me feel really inspired.
Fabulous illustrator Holly Exley posted a link to this video on Twitter this week. I've watched it several times already and it really speaks to the ambitious, excited, passionate creative in me. Really inspiring in a way I can't quite put into words.
A friend of mine introduced me to the 73 Questions series by Vogue by posting this video of Sarah Jessica Parker's episode. It's a cute format and there are hundreds of episodes to watch but one of the main reasons I like this one is because of the house. Look at THE HOUSE! It's so lovely.
I've read Claire Freedman and Kate Hindley's gorgeous book Oliver & Patch so many times and every time I do I see more and more lovely details in the pages.
Oliver and little Patch have so much expression and every passerby is a fabulous individual character who looks like they could have their own story.
Kate's illustration is so light, sweet and fun. I particularly love these two images I spotted on Kate's Twitter. Lovely and inspiring.
"I'm not doing it to stay busy, I'm compelled..."
One of my favourite musicians Ryan Adams has been in the UK recently doing a whole host of interviews and appearances. I discovered this little gem from Loud & Quiet magazine on iTunes but realised just now that Loud & Quiet also have a YouTube channel with lots of great content.
I love Ryan Adams' absolute passion for his craft. He lives and breathes creativity and it's infectious. A great interview to listen to on headphones after midnight.
I've been enjoying watching Roxanne Coble's YouTube channel since I saw a couple of her Vlogmas videos over Christmas. Roxanne, also known as By Bun, is a multimedia artist and illustrator based in LA who shares her work and life online in daily vlogs. Her art combines patterns, colour and collage, line art and words. I love how free her style is. Watching her videos and learning more about her style has encouraged me to play with my art a bit more, to try collage and layering and to combine media more. Her videos are friendly and absorbing, click here if you fancy a look (they also feature her two super cute pugs!).