My childhood was spent growing up in Hackney, East London, where I was born in the late 1980s. Both my mother and grandmother (seamstresses and set designers) played an instrumental role in encouraging my interests and developments within the world of arts and culture. My grandmother was a queen magpie, master corset maker for Sands films, and keen ceramic collector, scouring junk shops, markets and fairs for British studio pieces; her house was packed full of visual delights to digest.

The family were always involved in community arts, with a range of art facilities always within reach. The wealth of cultural influences flourishing in Hackney during the 1990s built the foundations of my desire to explore and understand other cultures and their expression through visual art.

After graduating from Loughborough in 2011 studying Printed Textiles, I worked as studio manager for Cressida Bell, granddaughter of the Bloomsbury group’s Vanessa Bell. Working in a small studio for a number of years was a brilliant platform for growth, learning and mastering my own design skills.

I then went on to open an art gallery, wine shop & restaurant in Margate: Urchin Wines, that I co-directed with my partner Orson.