11/12/2025
I grew up in the Highlands of Scotland, a place that shaped how I design.
It’s not a landscape known for abundance of colour. Instead, it’s all about contrast: the form of trees against a pale winter sky, golden grasses holding the last of the day’s light. The atmosphere comes not from showiness, but from form, structure, and the way light and shadows fall across the land.
That’s where I learned to look closely. To notice the shapes of trees, the curve of a path, the architecture of a branch. It’s also where I learned the quiet drama of winter - the strength in simplicity.
I often find myself captivated by the grace of seedheads and the structure of plants in death - their silhouettes sharp against the light, their shadows creeping across walls as the low sun moves in.
That way of seeing now sits at the heart of my design work. I don’t just look for flowers that dazzle in spring - I think about how a garden holds itself in the depths of winter, how it glows when the sun is low, how it moves in a storm.
I’m grateful to Jeanetta Rowan Hamilton who played a big part in giving me access to that landscape in my early years, and who helped shape how I see these things now. Rest in peace.
