April Blog Post #2

Hello April! I am so happy to say it’s officially finally Spring! I’m counting down the days until the sun stays out a little longer, warmer weather, the flowers are all waking up, and I honestly think it may be one of my favourite parts of the year! I feel Spring really is the personification of rejuvenation and regrowth, a beautiful realisation that things do get better and work themselves out. I’m writing this blogpost April 1st with much hope that this is going to be a month of change for the better. I have a lot of personal projects coming to light and I am so excited to share with my followers what I’ve been doing for the last few months. - I am so blessed beyond words I can express to say that I have a few magazine publications coming up in the next month or so, and I am potentially relocating but I won’t give too much information until everything is set in stone. I’m really becoming quite passionate about organising my business this year and setting up my brand side of my website, my team and I are working on prints that will eventually be available on this website in the coming soon shop section - I’m working with several fantasy photographers, designers and artists making some very high quality and detailed works of art that will be finished and made into prints, postcards, and eventually canvas.

Last month was super creative for me in the realms of fashion modelling, I’m so grateful to work along side some fabulous photographers and I’d absolutely love to share a shoot with you. I have been working on more stylistic 70’s and Bohemian fashion which has quickly become a favourite to shoot. I am so into this style in my personal fashion sense which makes these shoots feel so much more real to me. When I say real, it feels true to me, it’s not so much of an act I put on compared to say some of the other shooting styles. It feels so natural for me to work with designers and photographers on clothing that I love and believe in, the festival outfits you see are honestly my preferred look. I feel way more comfortable in a full on rainbow look, an out there faux fur coat, cowboy boots and tons of fun jewellery. The thought of having to wear jeans everyday terrifies me, I don’t particularly find them comfortable and it’s not my style… usually.

I was recently thinking about how we’ve seen the revival of 70’s and Hippie clothing and i’m absolutely living for it. Style is ever changing but also comes back around, and I am so sure this is because we may be yearning for something familiar and fun, and for me personally 60s/70s style is just that. They had so much fun with texture, pattern, and recognisable themes *paisley, mandalas and floral motifs and the very psychedelic and retro swirl patterns we see and instantly think of that era! I also think we are seeing more of this within fashion because of the new Amazon Prime series “Daisy Jones and the six” which I keep meaning to watch, if anything I would adore the fashion!

March Blog Post #1

Hello reader, who do I think I am… Vogue magazine? Sure. Recently I have been thinking about things that bring me joy in my life, the small everyday things, the bigger things, and everything in-between. I want this space here to share with you, the things I’m loving, I’m thinking I’ll do a section every month starting with March, as this is when I have had this idea…

I am so happy it’s March, I know it still feels and looks like December outside, but I am craving sunshine and anything that is a step towards Summer is good with me, that’s one thing you’ll get to know about me through reading my blog posts, I crave sunshine, to be near it, in it, to feel like I’m physically part of the sunshine is gorgeous - Especially being a model, in the winter we’re kind of indoors alot, working in studio environments and such, we don't really shoot on location until later Spring when we can finally be sure that if we were to book a shoot in this time of year, it won’t be raining… snowing or whatever the British weather would like to do that day.

I am going to start with a section on smaller things that have seriously elevated my life, things that you may also do, or maybe you would also take inspiration from too! So, my first thing that has just sparked interest to me, is listening to podcasts in the morning, I am beyond happy listening to my favourite podcasts, the sun shining through, incense burning in the background, morning coffee and just journaling along side listening to something inspiring. The great thing about podcasts is that it’s like a radio you get to choose, and because it’s audio and not visual it kind of just means you can get on with whatever you want to in the background whilst still feeling you’ve got some sort of company/something to listen to. I often listen to more chatty and “catchup with me” sort of podcasts and other times more educational and informative. A few to name would be Olivia Neill’s Inner Monologue - which is honestly amazing, as a woman with self diagnosed (I might add) ADHD I find her podcasts fairly easy to listen along to, thoroughly entertaining and random, and honestly hilarious. It’s really what it says on the label, her thoughts and wild experiences being an influencer in London, her personal life and interests.

Another podcast I am deeply in love with and that has changed my life is Exactly by Florence Given, I have absolutely loved this artist, feminist, writer (I could go on to all the incredible things she is) for a long time. Her podcast is so educational, interviewing specialists on subjects that some may find taboo, Sex, Boundaries, Dating, LGBTQ+ community, gender etc to name a few. It’s really enlightened me and given me some perspective on topics I otherwise may not have even considered or given much thought. Her colourful and joyful sense of being is infectious and inspiring and I often feel myself seeing cheetah print or elaborate quirkiness and my brain goes straight to “EXACTLY, that’s so Florence.” Do check out her podcast if you’d like to be questioning topics you may not have thought about before!

Another similar thing going on from Podcasts is also reading magazine articles, i’m not just talking fashion, but health related and Science magazines too, there really is some insightful knowledge out there to be fascinated by, I literally cannot stop reading.

Going on from my blog page, we really have kind of lost our attention span from social media, and while some with say that’s untrue, I personally have felt my eyes drift from a book I once would be fixated on to needing that quick and immediate fix of social media videos and quick info, don’t get me wrong, I use TikTok and Instagram just as much as some other people, you’ll be surprised if you look into your screen time if you use iPhone or any other phone that tells you how long you’ve spent on certain apps, I always wonder what other activities I may have spent time on, inventing a Time Machine, Brushing the endless knots out of my super long hair, spent more time in the pool working on my fitness, playing with Paris (my very orange and playful cat) Oh well, scroll… scroll.. scroll… oh yeah, stay on my website though, this is obviously important and beneficial for both of us, so don’t leave…

Change is the main theme in my head right now. I know that can sometimes be scary or come as a shock to some people, but I’m trying to embrace it, and I really enjoy the optimistic outlook that comes along with that. I think I’ve finally got into the flow of things again after my life seemed a little upside down (moving home temporarily) a little while ago etc. I have been thinking about why creating is such an integral part of who I am as a person. I used to think creating art used to be about the final product, the final image in this case. Creating for me now is more of a way of living, seeing the beauty in an idea and making it come to life. Working with others and having a connection to the projects I’m working on is vital. - It’s a beautiful thing knowing art you create is sometimes relatable, thought provoking and sometimes just a little quirky.

Being a model can sometimes seem like you don’t have much of an impactful job, say compared to the incredible doctors, nurses, lawyers and the mathematical and intellectual jobs in society. This may be just a personal opinion but I do sometimes feel myself downplaying my job or being nonchalant about my work. - I have come to realise, yes I’m not saving lives here… but I’m creating art, and that’s okay. The arts/entertainments and performance industry is important for inspiring, art helps us have a better understanding of the world. I’m finally embracing that I am so proud of what I do. Whether it’s a photoshoot for a photographer working on a themed shoot, working with designers, magazine publication or simply an inspiring conceptual idea I come up with. I am so happy to be a creator.

Image by Lauraanne Photography

Getting creative for me means all sorts of things… Sometimes creativity is painting an abstract colourful rainbow on canvas, wherever my mind takes me, I never studied art but I have always thought of myself as an artist. I’m not particularly the most talented and skilled painter, but it’s simply the act of setting out to do something that makes me incredibly joyful and inspired, I do sometimes wonder what the **** I am painting and sometimes get in a mood with myself and want to just give it up however I once read it’s important to keep your older works of art you’re not so keen on or proud of as a self reflection sort of thing and I totally agree with this. So, most of my painting are now in the attic, but at least I can pull them out in several years and know I was being creative and (hopefully) improve on my skills!

Another thing I love to do that I seem to find rather creative is, walking around the countryside with no shoes on, I know… some may call this grounding or being a little bit of a naturist, or maybe you'‘ll think it’s dirty and slightly crazy. I honestly love it, I’ve been called mad several times for this, but It makes me feel in tune with nature around me, this practice is obviously way better in Spring and Summer and I assure you, I don’t do this is snow or any other frosty days…

I am also a musician, mostly hobbiest these days, I play guitar, ukulele and a tiny bit of piano, but I mostly use my voice as my instrument. I write a lot, poetry mostly and then I take that and turn it into music, It can be a really healing process and is good for me, sharing artwork in any form is kind of a spiritual experience in my opinion, sharing art with somebody is like sharing the things you cannot always say with words, seeing deeper into someones mind, is a beautiful thing, a different perspective on the way we see ourselves, each other and the world around us.

Modelling for me is obviously my biggest outlet for creativity, taking an idea from my mind, writing down a journal or creating a mood board and turning It into an image is such an amazing process, especially when you’re collaborating your ideas with a photographer, MUA, Hairstylist and set designer. (Of course this isn’t always the way it’s done.) - I’ll be discussing this more on my blog page you can find in the next coming weeks, how I take an idea and turn it into a final image.

I have always enjoyed writing since I was very young, I enjoy buying pretty notebooks, and beautiful pens and have always valued the need to take the ideas from my head and put them down onto paper. I guess that’s also why I’ve wanted to create a personal space on my website for my inner workings and share with you what I love. I remember getting a notebook for my birthday one year, I must have only been around 7 years old, I filled that book with a full on thriller story and for a while I think I wanted to be a writer when I grew up, I always did well in school with writing with teachers asking me to write for them especially with creative writing, even now I can come up with crazy stories off the top of my head, with my favourite bedtime stories I have just come up with on the spot include David the field mouse who lived in a shoe, Sally the sad whale, and many others that have made me wonder if I should be writing children’s books rather than modelling and blog posts… maybe my career will take me down that road in the future, I have been considering that for sometime!

In this space I also want to make a section on dining experiences and bars, I go out more than the average person I would say, with travelling around the world on photoshoots I end up in some beautiful locations, and I’d love to take my reviewing a little more seriously, in a nice way of course, I’d love to be able to recommend some venues to you, so you can also check them out if you’d like!

I’d like to point out some articles on here may be a little sporadic and all over the place at first, we’re navigating and planning what we want this side of our site to look like and where stories and blog pages will be kept, saying that… this side is however, more personal so only time can tell, once I decide all the things I’d like to write about and share we can find a home for them accordingly.

I think throughout my life and especially throughout my career, I seem to set out to what other people like to describe as being an over achiever, or perhaps I set myself out so many goals, anybody may say my future plans are unrealistic or I’m taking on too much, when I was 18, fairly new to modelling (in my third year) I decided I wanted to create a magazine about freelance modelling, and in planning I had so many plans and ideas, I think I may have taken on a little too much at such an unexperienced and young age, looking back now 5 years on, I don’t understand why I didn't think of starting a blog or webpage of some sort, It would have made a lot more sense realistically and financially, (cost of printing etc with no real market)

I’d like to take that idea and change the concept slightly, I am still interested in interviewing freelance creatives, models, influencers, photographers, MUA’s, hairstylists (I could go on) put the format in doing so has changed overtime, and actually I am really grateful for that. The platforms for information are ever changing, I can see myself possibly creating a podcast in the near future for these ideas that would have otherwise just been in writing.