Given how freezing the weather has been of late, I have been dreaming of being able to escape wintry England for somewhere a lot closer to the equator; perhaps Barbados, Thailand, southern Spain . . . Anyway, since I have …
I discovered Leah Duncan’s charming patterns and illustrations a couple of years ago via Etsy. I love the colour palette she uses and her playful compositions. Her work has a lovely folky feel without being remotely twee which is a …
I just got back from a wonderful trip to India and one of the highlights of my time there was exploring the painted havelis (mansions) of Shehkawati, a region North of Jaipur in Rajasthan. Until the middle of the last …
Being new(ish) to Melbourne this is my first Christmas in the city so I’ve been on the look out for Christmas Markets and events throughout December. Myer Department store is very iconic to the city and every year (since 1956) …
I once visited The Cape Ann museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts and stumbled upon the little known work of the Folly Cove Designers. They were a locally based group of designer craftsmen who produced stunning lino cut printed fabrics between 1938 …
A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to head down south to Tasmania to visit the amazing MONA. And I can confirm it was everything I hoped for and more. To give a little bit of background, MONA …
Anika Starmer is an artist who likes to travel and to collaborate. I love the nature inspired patterns she creates and I’m in awe of the discipline she applies to her creative practice. Here Anika shares her secrets of successful …
I have been thinking a lot about holidays this week. Who am I kidding? I think about holidays pretty much all year round. This year we are planning to take a trip to Kerala in Southern India. Or maybe New …
I have just updated our neglected Instagram page with some recent photos I took in Dubai and it got me thinking… It is perhaps not the first place you would think of for a dose of artistic inspiration, believe me. …
You know how some iconic tourist attractions are sometimes a bit, well, disappointing? You feel so much excitement about seeing them first hand and then you get there and feel a bit flat and underwhelmed? I remember the anticipation of …
Image: Treehouse point A treehouse, every little boy’s dream? You could probably add every grown up boy’s dream to that as well. Mrs Magpie and I are very domesticated these days and, until recently, it had been a long time since …
I found this website the other day that I am excited to tell you about. Ready to lose hours of your precious time travelling vicariously through the internet? Here goes… Atlas Oscura is a site dedicated to bizarre and fascinating …
