Though the city is amazing with a lot to offer, of course it’s great to have your own hideaway. My room is essentially my studio/desk space too and the hub of my creative activities.

This is a nice place to hangout...they have healthy food, juices and desserts! The pistachio ice cream is dairy free and really good! 

East London shop where you can find nice pieces from independent artists, nice presents or home decoration.

Half a mile from Markfield Park down the River Lee is Springfield Park. The park rises steeply up from the river and has an amazing array of tree species making it beautiful in all seasons. At the brim of the hill there is a line of park benches each one surrounded by box hedge offering a private view across the Lee Valley, Walthamstow and beyond. The park warden was nice enough to give me a chestnut log a couple of years ago from which I carved a bench and two stools.

I go to the Heath every weekend (often via the wonderful Waterlow Park which skirts Highgate Cemetery) and during the week too if I’m working from home; it helps to put things in perspective when I’m thinking about my work. It’s great in the summer for obvious reasons but I love it the most in autumn and on those rare days it snows so much London grinds to a halt (which doesn’t take much). Everyone heads up there to make giant snowballs/cats/creatures and surf down Parliament Hill on anything they can get their hands on. Grown ups turn into kids for the day. My husband and I made this snow yeti last year, it was sad to leave him behind but he soon made friends and even made it into the Camden New Journal.