About Me

I was born in a, then smallish, town called Benoni on the East Rand near Johannesburg, South Africa (yip, the same one Charlize Theron and Charlene the Princess of Monaco are from!)

We moved around a bit when I was young, our first move was to Ballito on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast. We lived there for 3 wonderful years before heading back to Benoni. I finished Primary school there and then went to boarding school in Pretoria for the first 2 years of high school, which was also a lot of fun! But before long we were packing up again, this time to move to Kloof, a suburb of sunny Durban and we have stayed here ever since!

After finishing high school I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to study. I’d always loved and excelled at anything arty, so I knew it would be something in the arts line, but really didn’t know what I would love to do as a living. So I did a one year Foundation Arts Course at the Natal Technikon. That was one of the best years of my life – it was so fun to be free of school (Maths and Science in particular) and mixing with like-minded people! In that year we did a bit of everything. From learning about the basics of drawing and painting to jewellery design and photography. At the end of the year I made the decision to apply for the 3 year Graphic Design diploma course offered by the new Durban Institute of Technology (the Natal Technikon merged with the ML Sultan Tecknikon to form DIT). After completing my diploma I did an extra year to complete my B-Tech Degree in Graphic Design (now at the newly named Durban University of Technology) whilst working part-time at my first ever, real office job as a Graphic Designer and Artist at a publishing company called Art Publishers in Durban. I learnt so much whilst working there and designed everything from coffee table books, postcards and gift-wrap to t-shirts, socks and caps. This was also where I was first given the chance to realise my life long dream to become a children’s book illustrator.

After 2 years of working at Art Publishers I got really itchy feet and felt a desperate need to go exploring, so I applied for a 2 year working holiday visa from the UK and with much trepidation I got on a plane and left my comfort zone way behind! Unfortunately things didn’t quite work out as planned and before too long I returned home to sunny South Africa. Even though it may have seemed like a failure, I learnt so much from that experience.

On my return to South Africa I ended up back at Art Publishers and stayed there for another 2 years before making the huge decision to give it all up and go it on my own! And I have been working as a freelance Graphic Designer and Children’s book illustrator ever since!

There are many, many ups and downs when working for oneself, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything! I so enjoy the challenges of facing and accomplishing projects I probably would never have been exposed to before.

Apart from doing design and illustration work, I have also delved into the world of Etsy and have opened 2 shops selling digital paper and party printables.

My brain is always full of creative and crafty ideas and I am so excited about all the possibilities and opportunites out there and I love that I can do my work from almost anywhere. Watch this space…it’s ever evolving!