Grandma, Mary Solomon wearing her signature beret and tartan slippers with pom poms.
Since I can remember, I have always loved writing, drawing, painting, snipping, stitching and sticking. When I was very young, I spent many hours with my grandma learning how to knit, sew, crochet and cook. I clearly remember her showing me her favourite colourways using embroidery silks to demonstrate. What’s amazing, is that even to this day, I still use those colour palettes.
I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to make a career from doing something I love. Design and illustration still fascinates to me today as much as it did when I first started my business in my parents’ converted attic thirty-three years ago. My business start up kit was small; a few pencils, paper, paint and an old, borrowed typewriter from my mum’s friend. The digital revolution has meant that now, I rarely use any of those things – just an iMac with creative software – Adobe Photoshop CS 6.
My studio now is at home in Beccles, Suffolk. It’s painted white because it reminds me of two of my favourite things…snow and clean white paper. I love the way it takes on the colours of the things in the room and is a great platform for shadows and reflections.
There’s more about how I work and what I’m doing in my Blog about illustration, children’s books and working as an illustrator.