SHE WORE FLOWERS IN HER HAIR

We spent the day amongst the flowers as a group of new friends, talking, laughing and making.  We became better acquainted and pledged to do it again.  I hope that we do.  That evening I went home, felt lucky to have new friends and put Fleetwood Mac on the record player.  The perfume of the flowers still fills my home, nearly a week later, making me inhale deeply and smile each time I enter the room. 

Sunday past, Anna kindly invited us into her home where we sat in (what felt like) the early Spring sunshine and commented on how welcoming her home was; filled with the scent of delicious food cooking in the oven and her son's artwork adorning the walls.  Anna is a warm and wonderful soul who I am so glad to have met since leaving London, making this town a little more friendly each day.  Meanwhile Charlotte showed us how to work with flowers (in this case all British grown, from The Great British Florist) to produce some always pretty and undeniably feminine flower crowns.  Charlotte is a natural teacher, I could listen to her for days while she creates and talks... funny, clever and talented.

Michelle dutifully (and without complaint) took all our photos while we tried to pose and seem professional, although it mainly ended in awkward smiles and embarrassed expressions.  Ok, that was just me, but still...  The photos above of Anna (top right), Charlotte (top left) and myself are all taken by Michelle.  I really think she is an incredible photographer.  She did not lose her patience once, even when I was clearly unbearable in front of the camera.  Michelle is one of those classically beautiful and charming women that I am so happy to call a friend (and she carried off a stack of flower crowns like no other as evidenced in the photo of her above, taken by Anna).  

(All other photos are mine, taken with my iPhone.)

I truly loved meeting everyone else for the first time too.  Jo, Natalie, Elena , Hannah & Katie; what a great bunch of ladies to spend a day with! 

MOST WANTED: FOR THE WEEKEND

So, I wanted to stop by to thank you all for your encouragement after my last post about opening up a bit more over here.  Who knew you'd all love a bit more of the personal stuff?  Well, you did, obviously.  Anyway, as a thank you, here's a list of things I really want.  I know, I'm too good to you.  Jokes aside, thanks for allowing me to not feel like a massive idiot for the offer of being a bit more sharey (yes, it's now a word) and for reading my blog.  It means a lot to me.  Oh, and if any of you are feeling extra generous, I would like one of each of the above please and thank you kindly.   Ok, have a great weekend, friends and see you back here next week?  Date, done. 

1. Shirt - Zara

2. Scarf - Imogene + Willie

3. Earrings - Erin Wasson

4. Publication - The Gentlewoman

5. Art - Ethan Cook

6. Tea Bowl - Tabuchi Taro

7. Jeans - COS

8. Lingerie - Roseanna

9. Necklace - Maslo Jewelry

WE NEED TO TALK.

So, this has always been a strictly design based blog.  I've never been very personal on here.  I find that difficult.  I'm shy, private by nature, my sense of humour is bone dry, and well, I'm British.  However, I want that to change (not the British part, naturally).  Don't worry, I'm not suddenly going to get all over sharey on you (sharey?) but towards the end of last year and now this year, things have started to change with me and while it's a long and complicated tale which I will save for another time, I felt the time was right to try and make a change.

When I started this blog (I had a previous one back in '08) it was to aid my new business and to get a sense of what the community was all about - was this something I wanted to pursue?  Could I keep it going etc.  Since then, blogging has become more than a way to keep my business going.  I won't lie and say it has no place within my business because the truth of the matter is that it is my main source of work and for that I am always truly grateful.  However, the more I get to know people through blogging the more I love it for that very reason - getting to know like minded people.  The world has changed in the past decade.  Ten years ago when I was in my early 20s I would never have guessed that I would be into chatting to be people on the Internet... God forbid!  But now with  blogs & Twitter etc it's totally normal and I like that.  I've met so many great people through blogging, that I feel my world both socially and professionally has changed irrevocably for the better.  I've met lots of people in person and formed real friendships.  Then there's those people who are too far away geographically to meet, but who I still have real tangible friendships with and who I genuinely know will be in my life for a long, long time.

But the fact remains that I feel as though I need to redress the balance on my own blog to reflect how it has changed as a platform for me and my work.  And, how I have changed as a person.  One thing it has given me which I will forever be grateful for (and which I continue to struggle with on a daily basis) is increased confidence (which is going to be the subject of another blog post soon - it's all too much for one post).  

The thing is, I could go on about this subject for hours.  Literally.  But to cut a long story short, I intend to make my blog more of a place to come and chat alongside all the design stuff (that's not going anywhere!) and I hope you'll join me, still.  I really do love having you visit here and it means so much to me to know you're out there.  (See, I'm doing it!  But, while it's still a bit against my nature, please bear with me!).  After all, your support has made it possible for me to discover a career I never thought I'd be able to achieve... going it alone and freelancing and sustaining myself.  The past two years have been unbelievable (both with highs and lows) and a lot of that is because I started this blog. 

So, onwards, friends... thanks again and as always, I'd love to know your thoughts.  

(I know, how utterly un-British of me!  *waves Union Jack, makes a cup of tea, sings God Save The Queen and complains about the weather*  Aaaand, relax). 

RECENT WORK: CEREAL MAGAZINE (PT 2)

These days when I travel I tend to use blogs as my primary tour guides with guide books being my secondary source of information (oh and I should point out at this stage that I am a major research geek when it comes to travel... not joking... I'm all about the detail).  I love first hand knowledge of where the good stuff really is, and you can't beat someone who actually lives in an area or at least knows it really well.  This brings me to Cereal mag whose focus on travel reminds me of those personal recommendations I love so much.  They always have real insider tips of where to go and what to see and seem to have the ability to delve a little deeper to present the reader with a tailored experience of one place or another, rather than just a general overview.  It's all in the detail people, I'm telling you! 

Recently I collaborated on another of their blog posts - this one being about a shop in Seoul called Your Mind.  (Can we just take a moment to appreciate what a great name that is?  ...  Ok.  Are we done?  Ok, let's move on.)   It sounds like the most perfect shop full of amazing pieces that I would probably haul back in a spare suitcase I'd consequently had to buy in order to fit it all in. 

Your Mind in Cereal's words: "A haven for indie magazines, artsy books, cool stationery, records and the like, Your Mind in Seoul, Korea is a meticulously curated shop that you could easily lose yourself in, doting on say, a niche foodie title, or rifling through a selection of cards and CDs."

Please check out the full post over on Cereal's blog, here .  And while you're at it, have a great weekend, ok?  Good.  

BEAUTY IN MOTION

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I came across these two videos independently of each other but felt they somehow belonged together.

The first video is by Keaton Henson a 24 year old London based singer songwriter/artist whose debut album Dear came out last year.  This particular video is called To Your Health which, aside from the music, features a stunning ballet performance.  (I wish I knew her name, sorry).  I love everything about this video from Henson's vocals right through to the hazy light spilling through the windows, not to mention the dancer and that dress!  Henson's artwork is currently on display at his first solo exhibition Hithermost (until Saturday) at the Pertwee Anderson & Gold gallery in Soho.  See more of his work here.  

The second video is quite simply the moon rising over New Zealand as captured by astrophotographer Mark Gee.  But it's in REAL TIME, people. I KNOW!  And as they say in this accompanying article: "...take another look at the video. This isn't a time-lapse. This is celestial movement happening at real, human speed."  Beauty indeed.

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VITSOE + RAMS

In 1984 Niels Vitsoe commissioned the above sculpture to celebrate 25 years of working alongside (my hero) Dieter Rams.  (Despite turning 80 last year, Rams still works with Vitsoe now... I know!).

They say of the sculpture:  "Designed by the German sculptor, E.R. Nele, the work is constructed entirely from parts of Vitsœ’s furniture collection in the early 1980s. The sculpture has hung in Rams’s house ever since."

Ah, I really want to see his house! (Probably sounds more creepy than its intention). 

RECENT WORK: CEREAL MAGAZINE

In case you're not familiar with Cereal Magazine, it's a new quarterly publication 'in pursuit of food and travel'.  Volume one is out now and it really is a thing of beauty - be sure to check it out! 

I recently did some design work for the Cereal Mag blog which you can see here.  This particular post is about the French island, Il de Ré, which I am now frankly desperate to see for myself.  In fact, it has reminded me how much I love France and how it might just have to be our next holiday destination.  (Please?).  

The images are by photographer Lucy Wilkinson who says of the island: "Il de Ré is home of Cognac, Saint-Martin (added to the World Heritage Site list in 2008), and the same number of hours of sunshine as its counterparts in the south of the country.  Cars appear seldom used and the residents' transportation preference for bicycles is helped by the essentially flat landscape; the highest point on the island rising just 20 metres above sea level."

Cognac, cycling and sunshine?  SIGN. ME. UP. 

Head on over to Cereal blog to see the full article!

REBRANDING + A PERSONAL NAME CHANGE

 I wasn't sure where to start with this post as it's so much more than a professional rebrand.  When I married Bill nearly four years ago I kept my maiden name.  There were many reasons for this, which I won't bore you with here, but I always said I'd change my name if the time ever came for us to have children.  Well, four years later we still don't have any so I kept thinking, 'how long until I do this?'.  

Aside from the kids thing, I always wanted to use my name for my work but was loathed to do it only to then change my name a year or so later and have to do it all again, so I chose the moniker Hey Jo as a stop gap.  It has served me well but I am more than ready for a change so I recently made the decision to stop the waiting and get things going.  I am starting the name change process once and for all.  And if kids come along at any point then it's all done already... ha!

It's a rather long and dull process to change a name legally (what with all the banks, businesses, passport etc) but I'm hoping that by early Spring it'll be all done and I can finally enjoy this new beginning.  

Which brings me to the images above.  They're various design elements I am going to be using as part of my new brand, and while they're not finished yet I hope they illustrate the new direction I'm moving in.  I'd love to know your thoughts! 

PS I've also just realised it's exactly 5 years ago today that Bill proposed to me in New York!  I don't know why this is relevant, but it seemed kind of timely, given the subject matter of this post! 

POP-UP SHOP OPEN!

I'm very pleased to announce that my POP-UP SHOP is now open!  

I've decided to sell a carefully curated set of limited edition screen prints I made earlier this year in celebration of surviving to the end of 2012!  I don't usually get very personal here but it's fair to say that 2012 has been a year of two very distinct halves, both personally and professionally.  There were some really rather grim goings on in the earlier half, which have thankfully been over shadowed by a wonderful last few months. 

Anyway, onto the prints!  All designs feature either one or two key colours and are printed onto beautifully thick 300gsm Snowdon cartridge paper.  They're all completely made by hand and are in very limited numbers.  Once they're gone, they're gone!  So, I hope you find one you like or that you might like to give as a gift perhaps?!

The shop is only open for a couple of months and after that I'm going to launch my new branding, website and direction for 2013.  It'll be a bit of a departure from what I've been doing lately which I am both scared and incredibly excited about, but I can't wait to share it with you all!  Thank you so much for your continued support, and normal blogging service will resume shortly.  Ha!

RECENTLY: BATH

Having (shamefully) never been to Bath, I was stunned at how much I fell in love with the city while I was there recently.  The photos (while not wonderful & taken with my iPhone), hopefully in some way show the beautiful architecture and stone work there.  Obviously the Roman Baths have a massive presence in the the city but there seems to be so much more than that.  In many ways Bath reminded me of Edinburgh, where I used to live.  It had a similar atmosphere too - isn't it funny how you can arrive in a place and instantly feel at home?  For me, Bath was one of those places. I could have spent a lot longer there and will definitely be back, hopefully soon.

Have you been?  Is there anywhere unmissable I should go next time?  Perhaps a spot to get some lunch, a great little shop, local secrets?  Fill me in!  Oh and enjoy the weekend, friends!