On Saturday the 11th, I took a train together with some very nice girls – Lynne, Sarah, and Ruth for our little trip to Faversham to meet Kate and get to know her new town. I have been there several times, and the more I visit the more I like it. This trip was organsied by Ruth Garner, as part of her Gathered Cheer Social.
I find very important to meet up with people who appreciate the same things as I do, when you work on your own, and spend too much time in your studio, it is good to meet with nice people, share ideas, experiences, dreams, etc…I make a priority to meet up with friends, go to networking events, socialise with new people, sometimes I join a walking group, some others I go to press events, design shows, etc…

Kate gave us a little tour around Faversham, together with Hannah, who lives there too. We explored the town center, the farmer’s market, antique shops, admired the very old English architecture, and walked across the town through the brewery area to the creek. We were blessed with a summery weather, while it was raining back in London, weird English weather...

The Blue shed

The highlight of the day was ‘tea time’ at Kate’s allotment. She had prepared a delicious homemade choice of cakes (her mother baked them) and teas, that we all happily ate while admiring the little blue shed, which Nikalas (boyfriend) has built with so much love.

Kate and Nikalas Shed is the best little house I have never seem. He built it out of scaffolding wood planks. It is such a cosy and pretty space, Kate spend hours in there working on her drawings for her pattern collections. Their allotment is pretty impressive too. They grow veggies, fruits and flowers. They have created the perfect place for relaxing, being creative and entertaining family and friends. I went away with some ideas for my garden, which I will be working on in the next few weeks.

There is an old lady living in the cabin (below) by the creek, all year around. She seems to have it all very organised, cooking area, laundry hanging area near by, etc...I like the romantic idea of it, but I wonder how cold it may get in Winter...

We ended our day at The Yard cafe, a very pretty place in town, for a delicious lunch, and some relaxing time before heading back to London.

Thanks Kate for having us, and to Ruth and Lynne for organizing the gathering, it was a very beautiful trip in great company! 

 Photos by me

WONDERS OF NATURE – JARDIN BOTANICO CANARIO

Hola hola my dear friends, and Happy beginning of 2014! I am still in Gran Canaria, preparing for travelling tomorrow. I am looking forward to go back to my London base, to continue working on chocolate creative and keep enjoying life in the big smoke, but I wish I could bring with me the glorious weather form the Canaries, the beach, and my MUM.

I feel rested, I have slept the equivalent of 5 people, ate for 2, gone to the beach, enjoyed my friend's company, and the island. My most recent visit was to the amazing "Jardín Botánico Viera y Clavijo". If you ever come to Gran Canaria, I truly recommend you to visit it, my photos don't make justice to the beauty of this place, I felt like I was transported to the Dinosaurs era, species of flora I have never seen, some can only be found in the islands, a magical place, where to get inspired and rest your mind.

I am working on some new designs, and I have found my home town to be the right place for inspiration, things that have been part of my life since my childhood, like the beach, the flip-flops, the flora, etc...All I have to do now is to figure out how to translate all these new ideas, drawings and images into to a cohesive "something", in my opinion, the most difficult part of the creative process, but at the same time, the most enjoyable too. How to narrow down the blur of things I have in my mind right now, and make them into something visually attractive and commercially viable, not a tough task after all...

See you soon London!!

Photos by me

Hello happy Monday to all, it is being a very sunny and glorious weekend in London, September is my favorite month of the year and the best weather in this city.  I am glad my life is back to normality, I have had a very stressful week, haven't slept in 5 days and have lost a few kilos, (that I like haha). I have been trying to make a risky decision to grow the business, done numbers, worry about risks, money, debts, etc...I have learnt so much in just one week, about business, myself, and how much support I have from my friends and mother. It is a difficult time to expand and spend money on risky projects, but I am an entrepreneur and as such have a vision. You learn to live with uncertainty and not knowing how much money you would make each month, still if you offer me a full time job I would say NO and continue to do what I do. Enough of my business life...

Now and again I manage to get out London and get to explore different areas of England. Hastings is easy to reach from London and has plenty of things to see and do. Love the old town, filled with interesting shops and buildings, can't say the same about the new area, not worth to venture in and same as any other hight streets across the country. Here are some snaps of my latest trip to this beach town, I had a great day out, it was sunny and warm, had fish and chips, ice cream, sweets, and managed to get some new pieces from the so many antiques shops in the area. Do you go to Hastings?

GORGEOUS HOUSES