I was absolutely delighted (and scared) to be invited to be the UK designer for Bosal products. Imagine!!! I needed a special new pattern to launch but for some reason the fear slowed down my design inspiration. I usually chase, run and jump in feet first but this felt above me. I was truly overwhelmed by the offer and much to the surprise of my family and friends, my reaction was out of character.

I’d always said the Honey design would have to be a bag because my Little Miss Honey is just like your average teenage girl who always has a big bag with lots of pockets to carry lots of things! And then the Lewis and Irene delivery arrived! Every fabric delivery stops me in my tracks, however, this delivery slowed me right down! It was perfect… the timing was spot on and the fabric designs made me feel overwhelmed with excitement and quite emotional actually.

When the Birds (you may have heard me refer to my children as ‘the Birds) were younger, we always grew sunflowers and made it into a bit of a competition. I’m not very green fingered so I always lost, but I tried! Also, my Little Miss Honey was always my lemon baby which was for a number of reasons but mainly because that’s the colour she wore when we went to meet Craig at Brize Norton as he returned from his third posting to Iraq. Honey was just four months old when Craig returned – he’d gone soon after she was born – and I’ll never forget as the relief, the excitement and the gratitude I felt that day. And so the Sunflower fabric was just perfect as it evoked such a lot of emotion in me. Along with the bees and the lemon for Honey, the sunflowers are just so special and remind me of sunny days, love and laughter and my lack of sunflower growing skills. Apparently, they are easy to grow – hum! When at the beach, myself and Honey swim, read, play games and see who has the best tan so it had to be a Honey Beach Bag and I had a design that was just perfect. Not only that, it calmed some of my nerves knowing I had something special to design for so many reasons and what could be better to launch Living In Loveliness into Chicago with Bosal.

There is so much more to fabric and designing than the pattern on each piece of fabric. There’s also a story. Often there’s a whole lifetime of meaning and emotion that goes into each moment we get lost in the love of fabric and passion for teaching and designing. I’m so thrilled I get to share my passion, excitement and journey with you. Wow! So soppy! But yeah, that’s pretty much how most of my designs come about.

With every doodle I draw for a new design, the inspiration comes from the emotion I feel when looking at, holding and touching the fabric and appreciating the love and passion that goes into it by its designer. Ultimately the fabric designs the pattern – I just doodle and jot it down

I hope you love the Honey Beach Bag just as much as me.