Designer (Mark 1)

I first came into the design industry through fashion. I owned a fashion designing company called Lemon Tree, although I later changed the name to White Swans for some reason. I had a pink plastic telephone, ran the business from my bedroom and all my customers were either my mother or my Auntie Kathleen. Mind you, I was only eleven years old at the time.

Teacher

Although I secretly harboured a desire to be a fashion designer, my real career was already mapped out for me as I'd known from the age of seven that I wanted to be a teacher. Unfortunately, on just about my first day in the job, I realised I'd made a terrible mistake. I stayed in education far longer than I probably should have done and only left when ill health forced me to look for a new career that I could do from home. Because I was good at English, had a vivid imagination and always loved writing, I decided to become a freelance journalist.

Writer

Considering that I'd never had a day's journalism training in my life or been a "staffer" first, I went on to write for some quite prestigious newspapers and magazines including The Guardian andThe Times.  However, like most journalists, although I'd also had short stories and poetry published, I really wanted to write books. I assumed that with my track record, I would easily get an agent and a book deal. How wrong I was! And then when my mother (who had always been the great champion of my writing) died suddenly, I experienced the worst case of "writer's block" that I'd ever had. Every time I tried to write, I'd just burst into tears.

Crafter

When it became clear that the writer's block was not going to go away any time soon, I had to look round for what I could do instead of writing and that's when I discovered the crafting industry. I'd crafted in one form or another since childhood (Remember those Blue Peter makes?!) but hadn't really done anything much for years. I was particularly thrilled to discover digital crafting as this opened up a whole new, wonderful world to me as suddenly I had all this incredible artwork to create with. I started making scrapbook pages and then moved onto cards and stationery items.

Designer (Mark 2)

I then discovered, much to my amazement, that I had a talent for designing. (Are you getting a sense of things coming full circle here?) So, even though I was in my late fifties and most of my contemporaries were starting to think about when they might be able to retire, I decided to become a designer instead. And then after a while, and maybe because the pressure was off, I started writing again.

Artist, Designer, Crafter & Writer

But it still felt like there was something missing from my creative career of designing, crafting & writing and that thing was art. I can't draw and I was never part of the "cool" art crowd at school or University, even though I'd love to have been. But in 2020, when Covid made us feel that we might not make it to the end of the week, let alone the end of the year, it felt like Now or Never if I was ever going to overcome my Imposter Syndrome and add "Artist" to my portfolio. So I did and before long, doing art had become pretty much my favourite thing in the world.

Artist

Now here I am, in June 2026, and after a difficult time in my personal life last year, I've been feeling for a while that it's time for another reset. I've taken some time to try and work out what it needed to be but given that I'm already in "the youth of my old age", managing so many different creative things was becoming a bit much. I came to the conclusion that it was finally time to choose just one and make it one that I could potentially really enjoy doing for the rest of my working life. And well... I think you've probably guessed by now which one I chose!

5 Things You Might Like To Know About Me

 

  • I used to play the double bass.

  • I see the days of the week and months of the year in different shapes and colours. (It's called synesthesia.)

  • I changed my entire name by deed poll when I became a journalist and writer.

  • My favourite foods are peanut butter and cheese.

  • My grandmother's closest friend was lady's maid to the sister of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, the one who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb. You can find out more at:  https://ladyburghclereandethel.com