I am, at heart, a writer

Hey, hey !

Despite all the other things I do I am, at heart, a writer.

I am curious by nature, and I love to learn through research – diving deep into a new topic.

I am lucky enough to spend my days immersed in craft, design and sustainability so new information lands on fertile ground in my well-fed brain – sparking ideas and connections.

And then comes the writing – the craft I have spent my 10,000 hours honing through newspaper and magazine articles, online publications and (six!) books over more than a decade.

Here's a little of what I've been up to lately...

CIRCLES IN THE SAND >>
“We are running out of sand. That might sound like a ridiculous thing to say when you think about the copious amounts of sand in the world’s deserts, but it turns out there sand, and then there’s sand….”

I am delighted to have my first story in a wee while in the Winter ‘23 issue of Icon Magazine — it’s a story about the Form Us With Love x EasyMining collaboration to find design-friendly uses for the sand that is generated as a by-product of waste recovery.

IF YOU CARE, REPAIR >>
“Perhaps that’s why repair is really important. It represents not only one practical solution to the environmental crisis, but also a shift in mindset: a growing desire to challenge the systems that make fashion fast, disposability the norm, and a broken object easier to replace than repair.”

This was a story for Design Anthology that explored the topics raised in my latest book, Broken: Mending & Repair in a Throwaway World – it was lovely to finally get my hands on a print copy towards the end of last year.

KVÖLDVAKA >>
And on the subject of Broken, I am working with TOAST on a series of workshops inspired by the Icelandic tradition of kvöldvaka in which family and friends would be read to as they gathered around the only lamp on dark winter evenings to mend and repair. While one of TOAST's repair experts runs a darning workshop, I read excerpts from my latest book. In the first one, I opened with a Ben Okri passage about the reciprocal experience of being read to and closed, in place of the Icelandic scripture, with Mary Oliver. (“I don’t know what a prayer is, I do know how to pay attention.”)

So that's what I've been up to lately, but what's next?

Well, among other things, I am taking on 1–2 new copywriting clients this quarter.

My favourite things to write about are craft, design (especially if it's furniture and especially if it's mid-century and/or Scandinavian) and all things sustainable. (Please don't ask me to greenwash – I don't do that!)

I am in conversation with a couple of companies about some very exciting self-contained projects, so assuming those get confirmed, I probably have space for a couple more projects or one retained client.

If you'd like that to be you, hit reply and let's talk.

Stay curious, imperfect and defiantly hopeful,