DOITYOURSELF.

When I am in New York I always stay at the Bowery Hotel, perhaps the loveliest hotel in the city! Without fail I drop in on the John Derian Store on East 2nd street, conveniently placed around the corner. Here I stock up on all manner of domestic paraphanelia namely art books, wooden Kodak frames and Italian sugar paper.

The walls are adorned with a dizzying array of naive animal and form sketches. I love this notion of displaying art or photographs en masse. It is an idea so easy to incorporate into your home. Simply sketch something you love from your children to a cherished pair of shoes, it does not need to be perfect, in fact the more haphazard the better, then mount in abundance on your walls.

Milleneufcentsoixantedixhuit (1978)

Pouring through napthalene scented albums is a past time savoured for quiet moments of indulgent solitude. This morning I did just that and came across a rare jewel of a photograph. A Buddha baby version of my current self, on the cusp of taking first tentative steps. Aside from being a reminder of how impossibly cute I was (and everyone is at that age), it is testament to how stylish and hip my parents were. The back drop is the living room of my parents' Hong Kong Condominium circa 1978. Perhaps I am drawn to the amber glaze, a prevalent *"huematic" in photographs of this vintage? There are nuances within this meticulously curated space that I have carried with me into adult life. I am welling up with nostalgia and an irrational longing for bamboo furniture. The Phalaenopsis orchids in a vase on the coffee table are a staple within my home and my bloom of choice for any occasion. I am convinced the key to my outlandish taste is hidden within every fibre of that noisy three-piece-suite. The mental snapshot I took at 9 months regurgitates itself often, it is clearly imbedded within my subconscious.

I yearn for those balmy days, the smell of my Snoopy pencil case and nanny Aurora's chicken adobo.

* Huematic does not exist in the English Dictionary but I like the way it sounds, suggests colour theme.

I heart Jim

I fell in love with Jim Meadway's work when I was given his book entitled Shorty Loves WingWang: an autobiographical memoir of life growing up in a small town up north, told through a series of anthropomorphic teen cat drawings. The comic book world he creates is in fact very gritty and familiar, the only difference being is that it is a world populated by cats resplendent in Kappa tracksuits, replete with fags, drugs, acne, underage sex and other resonant teen paraphernalia.

It is the simplicity and detail of his drawings that grip me, leafing through his book you are presented with punchy, Loachian social reportage.

Loretta Lux

My current visual obsession is the work of German photographer Loretta Lux. I equally love and am unsettled by her utopian representation of the child in her pictures. I connect with the awkwardness of their gaze and allow it to bore a hole right through me, the unreadability of their expressions renders them inhuman yet oddly vulnerable.

Table Scapes

Ever since reading a fascinating interview with the late, great interior design maestro David Hicks, who spoke about his love of creating considered yet eclectic tablescapes with such precision and passion, I have been itching to turn tablescaping into an art form. It is an art form that will not achieve global recognition nor will it require any honed skill, simply a canny eye and a sense of humour.

Such beauty can unfold upon any surface, especially mantlepieces or my personal favourite: a demi-lune. It is an opportunity for you show off, tell a story or simply scour flea markets for objets and trinkets to display in your own mini museum.

TRIBALE.

I am reveling in the World Cup fever. However, what manifests is my desire to procure a varied array of tribal rugs and cushions, not the chorus of "ENG-ERRR-LAND" soon to resonate from many a pub and home near you!

Since journeying through and around South Africa, I have been moved by the African aesthetic. The bold use of pattern, texture and hue are qualities that suit most interior "scapes", whether it is a more traditional or an abstracted take on the look, it is currently my preferred method of adding drama to any neutral canvas.