About

My influences come from the desire to be kind to the planet whilst using quality products. My unique pieces draw inspiration from different aspects of my life.

Many ideas come from my local surroundings: living by the sea in Portobello with its wide skies and sea which change daily in colour and form; the rich architecture in Edinburgh and the vast landscapes I visit in Scotland. As well as this, I have been greatly influenced by my family and their love of patterns, colour and textures. My Nanny Joy inspired many of my most colourful designs.

My box designs are based on original mid-century sewing boxes. I admire their clean lines and elegant design, and also see their potential to be used for much more. The idea was born to create pieces with the ability to store precious items which, rather than being hidden away, could take centre stage in any room. 

I have always loved fabrics, colour and textures and studied upholstery at the School of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishing in Stirling. It was using this knowledge, and the love of combining a variety of textiles and colour that many of my designs have come from.

It was my Nanny Joy that first taught me to sew and craft. And it was her name that inspired my business JOY REVIVAL DESIGN.

It was an explosion of colour being around her. In how she dressed as well as her home, you were always surrounded by colour. This is where my love of colour and texture was born. I am always drawn to working with bold, vibrant fabrics and patterns.

 

Jewellery

I create both fabric Jewellery and Sea glass jewellery.

Fabric Jewellery:

Creating my fabric jewellery came about as I didn't want to waste the beautiful fabric used for the upholstered boxes and lampshades so instead of throwing the off cuts of fabric away that I wanted to the used them. I started creating handbags to used the smaller pieces and then created jewellery with the even smaller pieces of fabric. The beautiful patterns and colours of the fabrics are too nice to be thrown away and make striking statement jewellery.

Sea Glass jewellery:

When we moved to Portobello in Edinburgh we spent a lot of time on the beach. With two small children and a dog we were often out beach combing along the East Lothian coastline. It was on these walks that we discovered sea glass and pottery. Growing up near London we rarely went to the sea and I never remember seeing any sea glass. It is so wonderful how the sea can turn something that has once been discarded into a smooth, and in my opinion beautiful treasure of the sea.

After collecting so much I felt they were to beautiful to just sit in a pot so with my jewellery making knowledge I started creating my own sea glass jewellery. So the glass and pottery can be displayed in its own right.

I love to combine the sea glass with brass shapes I source, I feel the brass and glass complement each other and really make each piece of sea glass stand out. Creating unique jewellery, as each piece has been shaped by the sea so not one item of jewellery will be the same.

 

Upholstered Boxes:

My influences come from the desire to be kind to the planet whilst using quality products. My truly unique boxes draw inspiration from different aspects of my life. Many ideas come from my local surroundings, living by the sea in Portobello: the wide skies and sea which change daily with colour and form; the rich architecture in Edinburgh and the wide landscapes I visit in Scotland. As well as this, I have been greatly influenced by my family and their love of patterns, colour and textures especially my Nanny Joy who inspired many of my most colourful designs.

The design of the boxes is based on original mid-century sewing boxes. I admired the clean lines and elegant design, and also saw the potential that they could be used for much more.  The idea was born to create pieces with the ability to store precious items which, rather than being hidden away, could take centre stage in any room.  that the idea was born to create truly unique upholstered boxes.  Every one I create is different, telling a story inspired by the world around me. 

Growing up I was always drawn to colour; my mum always had colourful flowers around the house and every week we would visit my Nanny and Papa.  Nanny Joy was always dressed in the most colourful and vibrant dresses and their garden was an explosion of colours, full of a depth of colour and textures. The house was full of love and it was here where I experienced my first use of a needle and thread and the feeling of creating items from stitching different fabrics together.  

Whenever I think of those visits, I am filled with great memories and it's from here that my passion for textiles and patterns grew. Not only that but the colours Nanny Joy often wore, yellow and blues are often my go-to pallet.

Now living by the sea and walking my dog Lola on the beach every day, my designs are often inspired by the vast ever changing sky and water, from the inky blue and green sea to the rolling hills in the distance and its contrast with the flat ocean (on a calm day!) It can also be the smallest thing that inspires me from the the patterns the cracks make in the sea wall or the swirls in the pebbles on the beach.