FROM me TO you
I ALWAYS FEEL SO HONOURED WHEN YOU GUYS SHARE YOUR OWN PERSONAL STORIES AND HAPPY MEMORIES WITH ME WHEN BUYING YOUR TRAVEL-INSPIRED ART PRINTS.
SO I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED IF I GAVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF MY OWN PERSONAL JOURNEY HERE TOO.
SO HERE GOES...
MY JOURNEY SO FAR...
1981
Born in Northern England, near Newcastle.
Technically a 'Geordie' but I speak the "Queen's English" as my Dad would say.
Fattest baby ever.
1987
Mum tragically taken from us in a car accident, aged 37 years old.
Mum is my single biggest motivation to 'seize the day', and not to fear risk, change or new horizons. Because life is too damn short.
1990-95
Spent school summer holidays touring the west coast of the U.S, in a people carrier with my 4 siblings, singing John Denver at the top of our lungs.
Life-changing memories. Travel bug activated.
1993-99
Studied Graphic Design at school, with the best teacher if my school years.
First solo vacation overseas with high-school gal pals. Tenerife & Greece. Lots of sunburn and a diet of toast & tequila.
2001-04
Moved to Glasgow, Scotland, to study Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design, at the iconic Glasgow School of Art.
Met long-term Boyf, Glaswegian Panel Bester 10 years my senior. My Dad not super happy at first! Grew to love him :)
Worked one summer at a nature-based Summer Camp in Maryland, U.S.
Various camping trips around Scotland, then adventures in Paris, the Dominican Republic, & Hong Kong to visit my eldest sister.
Graduated Art School in 2004.
2004-07
Stayed in the UK waaaaaay longer than I intended to, due to.... well, my Glaswegian Love. But my Gypsy Soul dreamed of living as a Graphic Designer in Barcelona.
Cut my 'career teeth' at 2 incredible highly-accredited design agencies in Glasgow instead.
2007-09
Landed a life-changing Graphic Design job in the Big Smoke. NYC here I come, baby!
Empire State of Mind. New York, New York. The City that Never Sleeps... I could go on and on! Two of the BEST years of my LIFE.
2009
Left NYC, making pit stops in the UK and Hong to see family on the way, then finally landed in the most isolated city in the world. Perth, Western Australia.
Reunited with the Glaswegian Boyf after 2 years long-distance.
What the…?! Best OR worst decision ever??
2010
Fell in love with and settled in Fremantle, WA.
Started my first ever business ~ Solopreneur producing graphic design & branding for small ethical businesses around the world.
Various travels around the ginormous state of Western Australia in tents, campervans and AirBnBs. Barely even scratched the surface!
Learnt to kitesurf.
2011-12
A very eventful couple of years.
My Bestie from Glasgow School of Art moved from Scotland to little ole' Freo with her hubby. YAY!
Between the two of us, ‘TRAM’ was officially born. Our creative Side Hustle that brought us so much joy (and income too!). Even more YAY.
Glaswegian fiance left me on our 10-year anniversary. Not so YAY.
2011-12
A very eventful couple of years.
My Bestie from Glasgow School of Art moved from Scotland to little ole' Freo with her hubby. YAY!
Between the two of us, ‘TRAM’ was officially born. Our creative Side Hustle that brought us so much joy (and income too!). Even more YAY.
Glaswegian fiance left me on our 10-year anniversary. Not so YAY.
2010
Fell in love with and settled in Fremantle, WA.
Started my first ever business ~ Solopreneur producing graphic design & branding for small ethical businesses around the world.
Various travels around the ginormous state of Western Australia in tents, campervans and AirBnBs. Barely even scratched the surface!
Learnt to kitesurf.
2013
An EPIC six months as a digital nomad travelling around South East Asia & Europe with my Italian Man.
Scooter life, laptops at the beach, a diet of Papaya Salad & Pad Thai. Secret islands, rice paddies & jungles. And then my bestie's wedding in a Scottish Castle, and an incredible anniversary trip to the infamous Cinque Terre.
Life before we had to 'grow up'.
2012
Little Sis from the UK came to visit me in Oz.
A chance encounter in the local Italian restaurant meant I met the Love of my Life. Everything changed forever.
'TRAM' expanded it's range of designs, started doing markets & wholesaling. A joint expedition with my bestie, climbing those mountains and living the dream.
A solo trip to Bali. Lots of self discovery in the jungles of Ubud.
2012
Little Sis from the UK came to visit me in Oz.
A chance encounter in the local Italian restaurant meant I met the Love of my Life. Everything changed forever.
'TRAM' expanded it's range of designs, started doing markets & wholesaling. A joint expedition with my bestie, climbing those mountains and living the dream.
A solo trip to Bali. Lots of self discovery in the jungles of Ubud.
2013
An EPIC six months as a digital nomad travelling around South East Asia & Europe with my Italian Man.
Scooter life, laptops at the beach, a diet of Papaya Salad & Pad Thai. Secret islands, rice paddies & jungles. And then my bestie's wedding in a Scottish Castle, and an incredible anniversary trip to the infamous Cinque Terre.
Life before we had to 'grow up'.
2015
We, along with an amazing friend, designed and built our tiny house on wheels in Freo.
Babymoon in Bali.
Both us ‘TRAM’ girls became mothers for the the first time. My eldest, Luna, born June 2015.
Opened our first ever pop-up ‘TRAM’ shop in Fremantle, WA.
2014
Work, work and more work. My graphic design business & TRAM kept me super busy.
3 unexpected miscarriages. Realised parenthood wasn’t meant to be.
Adopted our first rescue cat, named him ‘Atlas’. Became vegan for the animals, then all the reasons.
Another pregnancy… this time no miscarriage…
2014
Work, work and more work. My graphic design business & TRAM kept me super busy.
3 unexpected miscarriages. Realised parenthood wasn’t meant to be.
Adopted our first rescue cat, named him ‘Atlas’. Became vegan for the animals, then all the reasons.
Another pregnancy… this time no miscarriage…
2015
We, along with an amazing friend, designed and built our tiny house on wheels in Freo.
Babymoon in Bali.
Both us ‘TRAM’ girls became mothers for the the first time. My eldest, Luna, born June 2015.
Opened our first ever pop-up ‘TRAM’ shop in Fremantle, WA.
2017
Full-on hippie Mama life, in our off-grid tiny house on wheels in rural Byron Bay hinterland.
Met & became close friends with local fellow vegan animal rights advocates.
Adopted 4 ex-battery chickens ~ Winona, Yasmin, Xena and Zofia.
2016
Another eventful year.
Best mate/other half of TRAM moved back to Scotland. Me & my tiny family moved to Byron Bay. Our tiny house on wheels came too.
‘TRAM’ was put on hold, whilst family life took priority.
Luna’s first trip to the UK & Italy to meet her extended family.
2016
Another eventful year.
Best mate/other half of TRAM moved back to Scotland. Me & my tiny family moved to Byron Bay. Our tiny house on wheels came too.
‘TRAM’ was put on hold, whilst family life took priority.
Luna’s first trip to the UK & Italy to meet her extended family.
2017
Full-on hippie Mama life, in our off-grid tiny house on wheels in rural Byron Bay hinterland.
Met & became close friends with local fellow vegan animal rights advocates.
Adopted 4 ex-battery chickens ~ Winona, Yasmin, Xena and Zofia.
2019
The year ‘TRAM’ was reborn.
All new designs, brand new products, a trade show… I was a Solopreneur with big plans.
A supposedly temporary move to Manly (Sydney) became a year!
An art exhibition and so many markets and events. A truly huge huge year.
2018
Our second baby girl was born, peacefully at home with just Italian Man & Luna present. Literally best and most life-changing experience EVER.
Time to dust off ‘TRAM’? But it unexpectedly went from a joint venture to solo expedition, with just me at the helm.
End of an era but exciting times lay ahead.
2018
Our second baby girl was born, peacefully at home with just Italian Man & Luna present. Literally best and most life-changing experience EVER.
Time to dust off ‘TRAM’? But it unexpectedly went from a joint venture to solo expedition, with just me at the helm.
End of an era but exciting times lay ahead.
2019
The year ‘TRAM’ was reborn.
All new designs, brand new products, a trade show… I was a Solopreneur with big plans.
A supposedly temporary move to Manly (Sydney) became a year!
An art exhibition and so many markets and events. A truly huge huge year.
2021
The end of 2020 gifted us a move to Bali, Indonesia!
Super sad times, closing the tiny shop in Sydney after 1 year of tumultuous 'Covid' trading.
But epic adventures on the horizon for my family & I, after 11 years in Land Down Under.
An intense time full of challenges and self discovery.
Witnessing the pandemic in Mama Bali. Discovering incredible eco-conscious artisans and community initiatives in desperate need of work. 'TRAM' shifted course, for the better.
And so the journey continues...
2020
January started with a very unexpected offer of a tiny retail space in Manly, Sydney.
‘The Tiny Shop of Travel Art & Objects’ opened. Best. Decision. Ever.
And then…. Covid. But onwards & upwards with online sales cranking, a shiny new website, some very exciting new locations & products in development.
2020 has been an adventure. 2021 was looking even better…
2020
January started with a very unexpected offer of a tiny retail space in Manly, Sydney.
‘The Tiny Shop of Travel Art & Objects’ opened. Best. Decision. Ever.
And then…. Covid. But onwards & upwards with online sales cranking, a shiny new website, some very exciting new locations & products in development.
2020 has been an adventure. 2021 was looking even better…
2021
The end of 2020 gifted us a move to Bali, Indonesia!
Super sad times, closing the tiny shop in Sydney after 1 year of tumultuous 'Covid' trading.
But epic adventures on the horizon for my family & I, after 11 years in Land Down Under.
An intense time full of challenges and self discovery.
Witnessing the pandemic in Mama Bali. Discovering incredible eco-conscious artisans and community initiatives in desperate need of work. 'TRAM' shifted course, for the better.
And so the journey continues...
SO IF YOU’VE MADE IT THIS FAR… WOW. I'm HONOURED YOU took the time to READ MY STORY.
TRAM (and myself) has certainly been on an adventure over the years.
Being a solo venturer in this business now has given me a fresh new perspective on it. It has really helped me to narrow down my core values, so that I am consciously building a business that truly represents my ethics and creativity going forward. And one that truly serves you guys, as fellow wanderlusters who just want to celebrate the places you’ve been with beautiful art & objects that fill your home with colour, inspiration, happy memories and adventure.
I have never been so excited and so driven about this tiny business. I have huge plans and I cannot thank you enough for being part of my community and joining me on this epic trip.
