The reluctant starlet

I’ve known Kerri for 16 years, and first met her as a 12-year-old in a too-big blazer and a pair of red school culottes. Yesterday we embarked on a giggly day of girly fun at a London photoshoot, and this image of my childhood friend all grown up just took my breath away. We’ve spent Sunday morning wrapped in the duvet, with lashings of tea and toast, with me making her a cover star and her being every inch the diva with the art direction along the way. Happy weekend everyone :) I hope you all got to cuddle an old friend, because it totally rules, even when they put their sticky fingers on the screen of your mac ;)

Kitchen Love

Because I am a complete fool … a few pics taken around my new Devon pad to send to the folks back home, became a 4 page layout project. I had to give myself a few stern words about time management, but it was funnnnn. I may have to start a blog, as I would have happily written an article about decorating kitchens to go with this… in case you were wondering, this is the ‘lived-in’ look..nailed it!

August Cover

I love how this cover turned out, we wanted to incorporate the vibe of the Olympics without sacrificing having a member on the cover or a WI focus. So we took this Roller Derby star, added in some red, white and blue, trimmed ‘games’ in the Olympic colours and the result is a bright and cheery nod to the Olympic spirit, in WI style!

Autumn Awesome-ness

Ok, enough of these grey skies. If you’re not going to be proper Summer, then let me have Autumn a bit earlier. I LOVE the colours, got so inspired last Autumn I got all uber nerd and took my camera and tripod to the park in London and kicked leaves in my cowboy boots…I recommend it!

New house, means new wall art

I’m a big fan of the art in your home having a meaning to you and evoking good and happy memories.Travel and photography are two of my favourite things, and hailing from a small coastal town in South Africa means I am greedy to capture every detail of the amazing cities I visit. This one is a contender for the living room…

Crown Cover

April Angel

Isn’t she lovely, Isn’t she wonderfuuuuul. At WI Life we showcase members on the cover, so planning and executing the shoots to capture the essence of these women is very exciting. This amazing cover was shot by Peter Schiazza, with journo Liz Frost up a ladder sprinking confetti over the gorgeous Tara Miles. Spring was around the corner so I spent some time adding florescence to the confetti (and throwing in a few extra digital handfuls – I couldn’t resist). I then made big Puss in Boots eyes at my editor and asked her nicely to use the words Joy and Ole in her coverlines so that I could add extra energy to the cover. I think the result is very Boom Boom Pow!

Gok Wan – fabulously faceted!

Gok was captured by the fab Peter Schiazza, and I felt that the images captured a more pensive and slightly darker side to a man that could easily be misjudged as a frivolous fashionista. I let them lead me into a design that layered dark baroque and fushia pink elements, and used a solid commanding typeface for the headline. This is a man who deserves to have all facets of his personality honoured.