Hello! ... phew, what a busy time its been ...

Hello my lovelies! ... What a busy time its been! In the last few weeks we've been 

given the wonderful big 'green light' and been able to re-open our little coffee shop. 

Hurrah! I will post some photos soon ... initially we were just providing 'curb-side 

takeaways' but now we're back to offering our full on yummy grub and delicious hot 

drinks & cold pressies. Todays special offering is a sweet little treat of Falafel & 

Houmous Mezze ...

... and there's a brand new range of 'early autumn' eco-paper products that are about to go live from the studio! ... If you fancy grabbing yourself 10% off, head on over to the website and sign up for our occasional newsletter 'The Hive'. More details to follow soon. x

giveaway day! ...

... it's super important to keep in touch with loved ones during these uncertain times, so why not write a note to friends, family, neighbours to let them know they are in your thoughts or that you are doing OK? ... these are difficult times for all of us & as its stationery week, I thought I'd try and make things a little easier by 'spreading the love' and giving away some of my 'Made with Love' cards. I have 5 bundles of 2 cards up for grabs ... if you'd like to have a go at winning some, all you have to do is make a comment below or on this 'giveaway' post on the instagram, facebook or twitter feeds. I will then draw & announce the winners by the end of Thursday 30th April. To make things even better I'm also offering FREE postage too but UK entrants only please! ... if you would like to check out my little shop, please head over here. Nothing beats receiving a personal, hand written note through the post, so go on, enter, show you care and put a smile on someones face soon!

(Please note: designs may vary from the ones shown in the video. Thank you :-) )

Good luck, keep well & stay safe! Bee xx

coffee & cards ...

... the running of the Coffee Shop is keeping me pretty busy and I have some photos of the next stage of the interiors that I'd love to share with you ... watching the space develop and come to life with colour on the walls and the addition of the lighting is very exciting ... I'll post them soon ...

... but in the meantime I've also been creating some illustrated products for the Coffee Shop (which are also available in the 'Made with Love' online shop) ... I'm just starting out with a small range of greetings cards but planning to introduce wrapping paper, notebooks and other printed products in due course ... (Mother's Day is just around the corner ... 22nd March in the UK!) ... all items are printed onto recycled card and digitally printed using soy based inks. They also come wrapped in a clear-filmed compostable wrap making them 100% biodegradable ... caring for both your Mum and the environment (that has to be a win win!) ... head on over if you'd like to take a peek xx

colour ...

... with all the rain and the cold happening in the UK right now, it's a challenge to be thinking of Spring ... but despite the grey, dismal chill outside it's warm in my studio today as I dream of lighter, fresher, brighter days and warmer colours ... I'm looking ahead to what's on the horizon in terms of new colour combos and here's my favourite picks of what happening in the world of colour for a lively, vibrant palette to zing me into March ... I hope it gives you a healthy colour injection too. xx

being brave ...

... Life has changed a bit since I last used to upload little illustrations to this blog (The Design Hive as it was once known ... and, I must say, a big thank you to those readers who have stayed with me during what has been, to say the least, a lean period in terms of posting to this blog). But now, as well as continuing to work as an illustrator, I'm also part owner of a coffee shop. A crazy, adventurous leap into the world of coffee beans, latte art and hot sandwiches-to-go ...

... My other half had had enough of 'corporate life', of crazy deadlines, impossible policies and bosses with more alpha testosterone than alligators, so we decided to make the move and make a change, to take a leap into the unknown and try something new, something to make our own ... So here we are, running our own little coffee shop in a very old town by a railway station in the middle of England ... it comes with it's fair share of challenges (what doesn't) but so far so good ...

... So with that change comes a change in what I would now like to now share with you, my readers. I'd like this place to be somewhere to share snippets of this new coffee shop life, of the journey we're on, of illustration projects on-the-go, of finished products and of creative, practical how-to's ... and to begin this journey I'm posting a little video of the very beginning, of where we were & how things looked inside the shop just a few weeks ago ...  I hope you'll watch this blog-space, stay tuned and join me as we embark on this next adventure ... xx