I cannot believe we are in the penultimate month of this year's family portrait project. Next month will be 2 years!
Just look at these babes. Almost 2 years ago I wrote this post.
And whatever may happen next year to this wonderful photo community, I am so glad I have these photos.
Weeks race by and I snap hundreds, if not thousands of work photos, driving Rich to despair with our back up system, but without these Me and Mine photos we may not have any of the 4 of us.
Sometimes I feel like I am always behind the camera, shepherding my brood into position for a family snap and sometimes it's hard to pass the camera over.
So if you had been a fly on the wall in the field today you would have cried with laughter. A controlling photographer, a frustrated husband, one Mama who cried when she fell, hands first onto a patch of stinging nettles, one Dada who vowed this would be the last time he was forced into one of these photos, one boy who suddenly needed to relieve himself (And not in the number 1 easy way.) and one boy who just wanted to climb a tree in peace.
But when I look at the few photos we actually managed to take, in between all the drama in the field, (We think we heard the peacock who has gone missing in the village - yes, you read that right!) it was all worth it. My beautiful boys. Our beautiful boys.
One of the amazing things about writing this blog is being able to share the places and people I am lucky to know and discover. These people inspire me to challenge myself creatively and this series, Capturing Creatives, is all about sharing the work of people I admire and shouting about talented individuals you should all know about!
First up is Simeon Wishlade. Sim is an accomplished designer based in London.
I am absolutely in love with Sim's geometric illustrations and the character he is able to create in the digital animals. Sim's illustrations have the ability to combine a contemporary design process with an emotional connection and I find the Baby Emperor Penguin completely adorable!
1. Hello Sim, great to have your creative work on the blog today. Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi Lucy, thanks for inviting me to talk about my work. About me, well, since the age of fourteen I wanted to be a designer and somehow I’ve stumbled my way to being one. I’ve been doing this for over twelve years now illustrating LP & CD sleeves, designing book layouts and websites amongst other things. When not in my full-time job or doing bits of freelancing I’m nearly always found outside playing sport. I spend a lot of my time cycling laps around Richmond Park and carry my EOS 5D in my bag just in case I see the deer out and about being deer like.
2. When did you start making your prints and why?
An ambition of mine would be to have a photo in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition but I have little time to photograph wildlife anymore, plus I don’t have the patience! So I ended up drawing some for fun and putting them on my walls, asking nephews and nieces what their favourite animals were and drawing them and giving them as presents and it’s taken off from there.
3. How do you choose which animals to feature in your work?
I normally ask people what their favourite animals (mine being a penguin!) and drawing them. Some are more successful than others though, I think it comes down to the personality of the animal. Some just work and look great, others take time to become a finish object and others (as hard as it is) you just have to let go because they don’t work at all.
4. What do you love about digital design?
Its instantness, the ability to adapt and change with ease, to constantly update and refine your work. The flip side of this is that nothing is ever finished – at least in print design you have a tangible object in your hands at the end and once it’s being printed there’s nothing you can do about it. Maybe that’s why I enjoy illustrating so much, to a degree it has a time stamp on it, a place in time, and until I chuck it in the bin it’s a product I’ve spent time on. Websites come and go, and all I have for them is a Photoshop file!
5. Which 3 designers work do you admire?
Tom Gauld: his work is beautifully detailed, and the sense of humour within his work always makes me smile.
Jessica Hische: her typographic work is amazing.
Peter Saville: His graphic design work is always a source of inspiration.
You can buy giclee prints of Sim's work or print your own at home with his digital prints available for just £10.
I just have to have the Baby Emperor Penguin for the boy's staircase!
You can see Sim's portfolio and blog here and follow him on Twitter.
Thank you so much Sim, what a pleasure to highlight your wonderful work.
You know when you find somewhere that makes your heart race? And somewhere that before you even walk in, you know you are going to love? Well that was me the second I laid eyes on the handwritten Dairy House Antiques sign.
Debs and Trix have curated the most incredible collection of sellers, showcasing vintage treasures, antique finds and rolls of old maps and prints just waiting to be thumbed by excited fingertips. Fabrics, soft furnishings, quilts, pictures and everything in between, from a miniature figurine to a French armoire.
The Dairy House is somewhere to get lost in.
There are no less than 3 floors full to bursting with antiques from all periods, sports memorabilia, kitchenalia, crockery, furniture, you name it, you'll find it here. There are 23 different sellers, who each have their little corner of the Dairy House, which result in the most eclectic displays and variety for shoppers. From whole rooms to a shelf in a glass cabinet, there is a wonderful feeling of collaboration when you potter around.
With the festive season looming there is a feeling of romance at the Dairy House, twinkling fairy lights draped over dressers and jars and metal stars and vintage baubles hanging ready to go from the shop to your tree this Christmas.
Pop in for present ideas or for a piece of cake at their "Tea Shed". The only trouble is you'll want to buy the table and chairs whist you eat your cake!
Top of my Christmas wish list are a couple of these enormous glass jars for the ends of our console table. They look wonderful as vases or simply filled with leaves or baubles.
The Dairy House is a find so if you are ever near Shaftesbury, follow the signs to Semley! They are open Monday to Friday 10am - 4.30pm, Saturday 10am - 5pm and Sundays 11am - 4pm.
You can find them on Facebook too.