Lessons from the road...

CAMBODIA

AMERICA

AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

MYANMAR

INDONESIA

VIETNAM

INDIA

I started my journey in India. What can I say about India, well it's smelly, noisy, hot, dirty, colourful, tasty and so bloody exciting. You cannot predict what will happen in this country and you have to take everything as it comes.

In India I learnt: Patience.

Next up came the land of Smiles- Thailand. I had already travelled here a few times, mainly to the Islands. This time I wanted to experience somewhere different, away from the island vibes. I made my way to Pai, it was beautiful. Completely surrounded by nature, so chilled and serene. I went jungle trekking, watching the sunset over the mountains, taking each day as a blank page, ready to write the next chapter of my story.

In Thailand I learnt: Acceptance.

And so, the next part of my journey was Myanmar (Burma). This country was one of the most challenging- there's only so many egg and cabbage soups one person can handle! However, the beauty of the people, temples and nature made up for it.

In Myanmar I learnt: To be more curious.

Cambodia was next in line. This country was such a real eye opener. The country is filled with farm lands, jungle, tropical beaches and rabid dogs. The most laid back of all the countries I have travelled to, allowing time to take it all in.

In Cambodia I learnt: Gratitude.

So on I went to Vietnam. If anyone was to ask where is my favourite country I have travelled, this would be my answer. The first place on my journey as a solo traveller. Here, I ate my way through Ho Chi Minh all the way up to Sapa. I learnt about the Vietnam war by going to war sites and museums. I went quad biking, canyoning, motorbiked one of the most dangerous roads in the world, visited small farmer communities, had clothes I designed made, I went caving, road a water buffalo, trekking with minority tribes, stayed on a house boat. This country truly awakened something I hadn't had since childhood, a burning desire to push my limits.

In Vietnam I learnt: Courage.

I moved to Australia, September 2014. This country has enabled me to make a better life for myself, to live in the sun, and explore what mother nature has provided for us. In Australia, I have been able to have a fresh start, as many times as I like. (5 times now to be precise). This country is full of opportunity, people come here from all over the world to live, which makes it a hotpot of different cultures.

In Australia I learnt: The importance of humility.

In New York, I stayed in a suburb called Queens. My trip here was full of fulfilled plans. I went to the Met, went to flea markets, central park, time square, a secret warehouse party in the middle of Brooklyn. I say I left a piece of my heart in NYC.

In New York I learnt: To stay true to my word.

It was September 2015 that I packed my bag and moved on to Indonesia for the second time in my life. Travelling with a couple of girlfriends and a healthy tax rebate, I was unsure what the next 3 months would have in store. But, it was in Indonesia that something inside me awakened. A deep love for nature, the ocean and life. It was on 25th September that I started a 3 day trek up Mt. Rinjani in Lombok and on 3rd October 2015, on my 24th Birthday on The Island od the Gods, that I took my first ever surf lesson. The beginning of the next chapter.

In Indonesia I learnt: How to live for the moment.

The next natural destination was New Zealand. That long, endless, El Nino summer of 15/16. I had the plan to surf everyday, work in a pub and be a full time beach bum. And that I did. New Zealand is full of exciting, beautiful nature where no people block the serenity with their selfie sticks and trash thrown on the floor.

In New Zealand I learnt: How to enjoy everyday whether broke or ballin'.

The endless summer part 2: Sri Lanka. My, how beautful this palce was. Full of the most beautiful people, beaches, nature and food. Colour and inspiration lay around every corner. The hazy red sunsets over the ocean gave me warm fuzzy feelings, whilst i surfed with sea turtles.

In Sri Lanka I learnt: How to love.

Being a Performance design graduate, I am heavily inspired by film, shooting my photography mainly horizontal, as if they were a still. When I illustrate, I kind of create a backstory just like when you design a character.

My travels have broadened my mind. Every country I have been to has given me new sources of inspiration. I have collected traditional garments from every single country I have travelled to. I am so inspired by the way different cultures put together textures and colour. Growing up in England where everyone wears black, it is so invigorating to see the myriad of rainbow sari's in the streets of Mumbai, or the intricately hand embroidered jackets of the Red Dzao minority tribe in Northen Vietnam.

I am so inspired by colour and by nature. I will often draw reference to many sources of inspiration in one design, thus creating something individual. I feel like every design that I produce, has been a culmination of my whole life experience up to that point. Always growing, forever changing.

My journey continues...I am currently living in Sydney, Australia. I am at a crossroads, so who knows where I will end up next. People ask me if I will ever stop travelling, but I cannot answer that. All I know is I will never stop creating and I will travel until I find somewhere I want to call home.

and that place I haven't found....yet....