After choosing to study Art, Biology and PE for A Level; I couldn’t choose one subject to specialise in as I didn’t want to choose one thing (loving having a variety of learning inputs) and so I studied Art Foundation for one year at Leeds College of Art, partly to buy myself more time to figure out which degree I wanted to commit to. Here I ended up specialising in TFP (textiles, fashion and performance), and within this specialising in print design, for my final project combining digital print, screen print and also laser cutting to create layers of transparent surface inspired by ‘Water’, and ultimately being awarded a ‘Distinction’ (the highest category).

Whilst studying here, I missed science and my more academic subjects, and applied and was accepted to study Sport Science at the University of Birmingham. I studied here for a year and half, and although I loved the subjects, I discovered that my life missed art significantly more than it did academic subjects, and so fortunately I was able to change to Textile Design at Buckinghamshire New University. I completed the three years, and graduated with a First Class Degree, again specialising in print design, with a focus on digital print, and I created a collection of light-interactive textiles for performance. I envisioned these fashion textiles being used by dancers in their performances on stage, and felt really drawn to this vision.

On graduating I moved straight to London, the heartbeat of fashion and textiles and performance, looking to find work in top design studios. I was also selected by Texprint to be one of their graduate finalists, and so with them I exhibited my work in London and Paris; did a digital design course in Manchester, and did 6 weeks work experience in Lake Como in Italy in one of the top digital print studios in the world, where I presented my designs to the likes of Armani.

On becoming disillusioned with the sedentary, desk-bound, digital-focussed, print-designing career I was being drawn in to, I realised that I would prefer to have a job as a personal trainer with a more people-orientated, customer service role, applying my passion for health, fitness, movement, and science- and then continue my designing and creative projects in my own time, (with a view to making money off them one day in the future, but not depending on my creativity as my main source of income). I did my last textile design internship in Sydney Australia whilst I studied for my personal training qualification, and made plans to get a job in a gym, and find my own freelance projects as an artist and designer.

At this stage I realised it was not financially viable for me to move back to London, which I was really devastated about, and instead moved to the North of England for more affordable cost of living, to seek work opportunities and begin working on a self-employed basis, and building my portfolio, with my long term goal to move back to London, and a new dream to one day live in Sydney Australia!

Here I worked in a gym as a personal trainer and fitness instructor; I designed my first print collection for fashion; designed a collection of scarves from my graduate print designs and painted several murals (two for charity, one for a Porsche garage, and another for a shop in Cardiff), and completed a developmental course called the ‘Life Accelerator’. I was then asked by my school art teacher to take a role as ‘artist in residence’ at the boarding school she worked in, which I thought would be a fantastic opportunity with an amazing school, and a more sociable living situation.

I then went through a phase of trying lots of different work opportunities, none of which gained enough financial traction to commit to. From artist in residence, I tried to find Summer work in the Balearic Islands; moved back to the UK and attempted to work as a receptionist, and then again in hospitality, before buying a one way ticket to Australia, with a goal to not come back. I looked for Summer Season work in Bondi, and on failing this I did my farm work for my second year visa at an orange farm, completing my ‘farm-work days’ by nannying on a sheep farm. In this time, Covid hit, and I nannied throughout the first lockdown. After this period, I made the reluctant decision to fly home to the UK between lockdown one and two.

Before lockdown two I attempted to work again in hospitality, and relocated to Wales to do some more nannying for my friend’s brother and his family. From here I made attempts to find PT work once lockdown two finished, and I painted three more murals (two for bathrooms, and one for a nursery). I moved to London again, exploring the possibility of painting murals, personal training work, finding a part time job, and trying out a network marketing opportunity selling organic superfoods. I found a live-in nanny role in Surrey so left London, but this wasn’t financially viable either, and I was looking for nannying options in Italy for the warmer climate when I ran out of money and was forced to move home to my parents house. Here I got another job in hospitality, until the restaurant burnt down, and I looked for other work. I was applying for the army now, and so looked for an ‘outdoor activity’ job, and was fortunate to work at Go Ape in Dalby forest for the Summer season. After the Summer season ended, I looked for other work and attempted to work as an Amazon Van Driver for Winter, which I did for 5 weeks but proved to not be sustainable for me either.

This year, in 2023, I started my yoga teacher training course, moved to Leeds, and worked another Summer at the Leeds Go Ape. I also did some paintings on boards, with a view to marketing myself for some more murals to paint in the local area.

So I am now living in Leeds; I am a certified yoga teacher with 300 hours (certified by Yoga Alliance Professionals), and I am looking to find work as a yoga teacher/ holistic personal trainer, and also as a mural artist. I have the long term goal to emigrate to a warmer climate, in a practical and thorough way and so build up the funds and credentials to do so viably. I am hoping to find opportunities to expand my mural portfolio as a professional mural artist for interiors; to find yoga classes to teach, and 121 clients for personal training with a holistic/ yoga focus. I am working part time at Go Ape on the weekends through Winter with the awesome Temple Newsam team!