A series of blog posts documenting cool things I've seen, been inspired by and want to share each week. Instead of filling your inbox with another newsletter or your feed with more stuff. 
Camellia Bush, Tokyo Japan Feb 2025
This past week ... March 2nd 2026 - Our Teachers
I met up with an old school friend last week, we used to have art class together and had a great Art teacher, Mr Clive Hammond-Lovatt. He made sure we drew, expressed ourselves and was incredibly patient with us teenagers bouncing around the classroom.
Mr Lovatt was the kind of teacher that would be a character in a film.
He wasn't loud or eccentric, he was calm, wise and melancholy with a slightly fed up look I now understand. Mr Lovatt was right about most things, I was too immature to go to Uni a year early. I didn't listen.
Mr Lovatt went out of his way for us, battling the headmaster, putting on life drawing classes, getting students jobs when they left school, securing our start's in life.
We were lucky at our state school to have excellent teachers in art, design, textiles, music and drama and many, many of us went onto careers in fashion, design, animation, production and art.
Mr Lovatt loved Andy Goldsworthy, I didn't get it at the time (fashion kid!) but now I do and it was wonderful to see my friend's work still inspired by those early days.
I also took a trip to Sadlers Wells for Pina Bausch - Sweet Mambo. Other than the theatre being a little too hot, us being soaking wet from a rain storm and the jiggling of the man in front of me, Pina was a wonder to behold again. White drapes, billowing, billowing, billowing and 1930s gowns with such beautiful momentums. Like Nelken, I felt like I'd SEEN something.
The next day we went to the John Ruskin Prize at Trinity Buoy Wharf - natural materials are definitely calling to me. My (other) friends college tutor Duncan Cameron won the prize with a cabinet titled Stratigraphy, his sketchbooks are incredible.
My friends recounted him working on similar pieces 20 years ago when he was teaching them. How wonderful to be focused for all that time.
Speaking with creative friends I was left with the question of why is it so hard to mentally do and share the work we create? A few don't have websites or books where I can SEE their work at all. Royal Academy alumni!
As a viewer, I so badly want to see what people create and encourage them. As a creator, its terrifying!
I'm in a creative slump myself, I blame it on many things, a chaotic world, being tired, needing to make money etc. etc. etc. but when I hear others say it, I realise it's me making excuses. The world has always been chaotic, the difference when I was younger is that I had great teachers keeping me on track.
Mr Lovatt died last year and is fondly remembered by us who benefited from his teaching.
Some cool things ....
Film of the Week - Pina - Wim Wenders 2011
closely followed by Lenny (1974) by Bob Fosse (challenging film about Lenny Bruce) and
The Wonderful world of the Brothers Grimm (1962) Joyful spectacle with fabulous capes.
Music - The Here and After - Jun Miyake and Lisa Papineau 2008
Undenied - Portishead 1997
Nick Drake - Pink Moon 1972
Book - Start your own F*cking Brand - Maria Erixon Levin Nudies Jeans
The story of Nudies Jeans
Artwork - Felicity Warbrick - Heath
Felicity Warbrick portfolio website here
Podcast - Mackenzie crook new statesman interview
Which leads me to watching Small Prophets which is just lovely.
Doing with my hands - still learning to knit, so I can't use my phone!
Learning - What I can and can't control. I can't control idiots starting wars but I can be kind, smarter and a good human. (Wish I could stop a war, What if we could?)
Garment of the week - I was looking for 1930s slip gowns like the Pina Bausch dresses and stumbled across this incredible Charles James bodice along the way. Charles James gets me every time, his work is something else.
This reminds me I still need to share the 1930s gown I dragged out of skip that started everything.
Grateful for - The privilege of being born and living in Peace, I wish all could have this. 
Dress I'm working on
Pina Bausch Sweet Mambo
The perfectly shaped tiles in the bathroom at Castle Cary Train Station, Newt Creamery Cafe. It's amazing. They have the ACTUAL costumes Kate Winslet wore in Titanic displayed in the shop randomly flexing too, like you do.
Felicity Warbrick, Heath from the John Ruskin Prize