Photo by: A very talented photographer LJ @ Tint & Grade

My personal style signifiers: My nail colours and big jewelry! I love nail colours and change them often, my favourite nail polish brand is Chanel and I must have all of their colours by now. Another thing that I love is hand made jewellery. There is one artist in particular whose jewellery I admire he is a Barcelona based sculptor that also does jewellery. It is a complete work of art, his name is Fili Plaza. I also collect many interesting pieces on my travels and its always really nice to wear them as they remind me of a particular time and place.

The last thing I bought and loved: I came across this fabric shaver by Steamery, it is a small thing that makes a really a big difference in my wardrobe. I have a lot of jumpers and this thing ensures they always look great!

What I did with my spare time during the lockdown: I have learned how to bake well! I have also had time to explore and perfect my Ottolenghi recipes, for which under normal conditions I never had the time to get around to as sourcing all the ingredients is particularly time demanding.

An unexpected pleasure: Submerging myself into the world of podcasts, this was great during the lockdown time when you were not able to meet up with your friends to discuss everyday things and get their advice and opinions. Listening to topics that interested me gave me a whole new perspective on so many things.

Right now: I would love to be somewhere like Morocco exploring souks, or I would be equally happy sat on a rooftop bar in Manhattan, New York with an Old Fashioned enjoying the view of the world going by.

The best souvenir I have ever brought home: I always find something beautiful and unique on my travels so this does make it hard to pick one thing. My home is full of objects where each piece has a story, and this is what makes each piece special. But maybe if I did have to pick one piece it would probably be a painting by Frank Iraola a Cuban artist. Where my friend and I have set to find him on our visit to his home town of Cienfuegos. It was a really humbling experience being in his home with his work all around us. And then it was an altogether different experience having to deal with Cuban authorities to get permission to take his paintings out of the country as Cuba has strict laws about exporting antiques and original artwork out of the country without explicit permission from the authorities.

The best book I have read recently: Because I have just set up my practice I am currently reading a lot of books on accounting, marketing, and other types of books that can help break down all there is to know about running my design practice well. All these aspects are so important but not things I had to deal with previously when I was working for other design studios. I have just finished reading E-Myth by Michael Gerber and that was pretty enlightening.

The music that I am currently into: Are my old albums of Peter Bjorn & John as well as Manu Chao because I listened to these when I was travelling through Central America and hearing this music takes me back to an amazing summer.

The last item of clothing I added to my wardrobe: It was a summer dress from Liberty’s. I think they always curate a great selection of very interesting pieces and shopping there does not feel like shopping. I am not a big fan of shopping for clothing in general and have never bought anything online unless I have tried it first. So places like Liberties are definitely my go-to places to acquire new pieces for my wardrobe.

I have recently rediscovered: How nice walks along the London canals are, it is like they have their own ecosystem, there is music, freshly made lemonade sold by various boat residents, most people have magical little herb gardens on their boats, it is just a different world that felt very nice to escape to.

The one artist whose work I would collect if I could would be: Edward Hopper I find that in his artwork you can find so many emotions, it leaves you creating deep narratives in his scenes, it is very surreal how his artwork engages with the viewer.

In my fridge: You will always find dark chocolate & cheese these are my non-negotiables, everything else comes and goes, I live in Shoreditch it is a really great place to eat out at any time you feel like it so food at home is not a must.

The beauty staples I am never without: My Bobbi Brown moisturiser and my Aesop Parsley Seed Cleansing Oil. I discovered Aesop in Japan in 2010 back then it was not a known brand, not sure they even had it in Europe as I know that I had to get my products shipped to me for a few years before it started being available in Paris and London.

I collect: Design books, I have a nice collection of design books that are out of print. I love older design books as that is where you get to see things that you wouldn’t find online because back in those days there was no internet and so most of the images are only in books.

On my wishlist: Is to visit Petra in Jordan, I have been mesmerised by the images of the archeological site for many years and I can’t wait to get to see it in real life.

My favourite app: Is ClickUp, this app has been a lifesaver, it made my project management side of things a breeze and I am now really enjoying it too, doing all the paperwork on projects used to be very bureaucratic and complicated in the past. So I couldn’t recommend this app enough!

The tech I could not do without: I am sad to say but it is my iPhone, I think we have all become so reliant on our phones in today’s world. It is not only my connection to everything but my computer, my diary, a library a camera …. and list can go on

My favourite room: Is my living room, I think it is such a luxury to have a beautiful home you enjoy spending time in, you can never underestimate its effects on your state of mind.

An indulgence I would never forgo: Would probably have to be Port wine, I really enjoy a glass of Port in the evenings or when I am just relaxing with my friends.

If I was not doing what I do: This is a hard to consider as I really can not see myself doing anything else, my work feels so natural to me that it is hard to imagine doing anything else as a job. But maybe I would work with a charity, I do to take a lot of interest in the ones I support and I really like helping people you get such a sense of accomplishment out of it and you make a real difference in someone’s life. There are a few charities that I am particularly fond of, one of them is www.beam.org I really feel that they have a right approach to helping solve homelessness, by investing in each individual helping them get an education and then secure a job. The investment is treated as a loan and once that individual is in a job they slowly start to pay off the loan back into the scheme to help others. There is another scheme that is in development that I though was really interesting and that is www.proxyaddress.co.uk this charity is trying to solve the issue where if you do not have a home you do not have an address that forms part of our identities in the system, something you need to be able to claim benefits, proxy address solves this by giving people a virtual address meaning that individuals can claim benefits, apply for jobs, have a doctor basically ensuring that individuals can still have access to the basic services that they are entitled to.