design the UNusual #02 – with axis on apex

Signs already up, weather vane just arrived…

I have just completed some signage for a new cycle hire venture on Hastings sea front – and had great fun designing a weather vane to sit atop the bike hut. The seagulls seem a little wary…

There is also a Walking & Cycling Trail that I’ve designed. It shows the sea front route from Hastings Old Town west as far as Bexhill, with plenty to see and do along the way. Local cycle shops and bike-friendly cafés are also listed.

View of cycle hut as you approach along the Promenade

Speedy cyclist in position and ready for some gusty weather!

design the UNusual #01 – in gold on chocolate

Can you say you have achieved greatness when your design is reproduced in edible gold on luxurious chocolate and exhibited atop some of the finest cakes in London..? Logo for Belle Epoque Patisserie – seek out at their lovely café on Newington Green and also in Selfridges.

Delicious design, Belle Epoque Patisserie…

 

Another poem and picture a week

I’m very fortunate to have had an illustration of mine selected again for the beautiful German ‘Arche Kinder Kalender’. Illustrated poems are chosen from children’s books from around the world  – and my copy of the 2014 calendar has just arrived!

Each poem is shown in its original language as well as in German. It’s lovely to have had a picture of mine included amongst such a fantastic range of illustrators – very humbling. The image chosen is from a book of poems I illustrated for Turkish publishers Gunisigi Kitapligi. There’s also some spreads from the same book, Iki Gözüm Üzümüm, below.

‘When Spring Arrives’

‘A Wish’

‘One Morning’

‘Fish’ exhibition / Coastal Currents 2013

Everything now ready for my exhibition that begins on Saturday… I am showing my drawings of fish caught along NE Aegean coast of Turkey. The exhibition will be in the Crypt at St Mary in the Castle, Hastings – a stunning venue – as part of the annual Coastal Currents Arts Festival.
http://coastalcurrents.org.uk
21/09 – 06/10/2013
St Mary in the Castle
Hastings

Looking forward to it!

monogram workshops inspired by Pugin

I was in Kent yesterday delivering the first round of workshops inspired by the work of Augustus Pugin. The pupils at Ursuline College, Westgate-on-Sea and Christchurch Primary School in Ramsgate were extremely creative and came up with some fantastic monogram designs.

Together with artist Dawn Cole and The Pugin Society, I am currently developing an education pack and related online resources that will help promote Pugin’s heritage in primary and secondary schools. All should be ready in time for the Autumn 2013.

crafty crab..?

My new venture has finally reached first proofing stage. The letterpress printing onto grey board has worked as planned, now to try out the laser cutting…

Watch this space!

first day of the year…

The 1st of January was a beautiful clear day in Hastings… happy 2013!

herring season…

The celebration of the Herring catch is a very old tradition in Hastings, East Sussex – a tradition that has happily just been revived. The Hastings Herring Fair was held between 23-25/11/2012 and celebrated all things Herring-y, including delicious herring in bread rolls filleted swiftly on the spot before frying, smoked and pickled herring, and a ‘blessing of the nets’ by the local priest. A great atmosphere, plentiful drink and seafood and singing of traditional sea shanties.

The blessing of the nets…

Local seafood restaurant Webbes’ special herring menu

grill, stew – and brew!

After much screen-time and many sketches, the cookery book on Gaziantep cuisine I have been working on with Turkish food researcher and culinary expert Aylin Öney Tan is out… and what’s more, we have both an english and a turkish edition. Then there’s a little book that I have just finished designing – a selection of delicious dishes including recipes for stuffed vegetables and wrapped vine leaves… And, to complete the feast, there’s ‘a cup of Turkish coffee’ – another lovely project that is also hot off the press. All will be revealed at the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery where this year’s theme is ‘wrapped & stuffed’ food…

Bon appetit, or as they say in Turkey, afiyet olsun!

Cover designs for A Taste of Sun & Fire and Stuffed & Wrapped – books on Turkish cuisine;
A Cup of Turkish Coffee – designed for Turkish Coffee giant, Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi.

and now, off to press!

Our cookery book, full of delicious recipes from Gaziantep in southeast Turkey, is with the publishers and finally going to press! This first edition is in turkish, but an english version is following hot on its heels – look out for copies across Turkey and beyond… We will also be taking the book to the wonderful Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery this July where a range of delectable Gaziantep dishes will be served at a special dinner.

www.oxfordsymposium.org.uk

Dial-a-baklava… simply place your order with one of Gaziantep’s most famous baklava makers and a box will be delivered straight to your door!