I’m an illustrator, designer and writer living in Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland. I’ve had an unusual career path as an artist, web designer, blogger, small business owner and published author.
My Life So Far
- Grew up in Lossiemouth in the North East of Scotland
- 1996: BA in Printmaking from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen
- 1996-2008: Paid the bills as a computer technician, web designer and seasonal mail sorter.
- 1998: Set up diskant.net (1998-2003), a music community and then blog with a team of writers.
- 2000: Started my first blog (I’ve blogged at least weekly ever since)
- 2004-2009: Played keyboards in Glasgow band Üter, signed to cult club Optimo’s label OSCARR.
- 2007: Set up my own craft/illustration business Asking For Trouble.
- 2007-2008: My work is included in exhibitions at The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Manchester Craft & Design Centre and The Park Gallery in Falkirk.
- 2008: Quit my corporate web design job to run Asking For Trouble and do freelance website design.
- 2008: Commissioned by Shopify to design an official theme for new users, and later become an approved Shopify Expert.
- 2008: Set up Super Cute Kawaii, a daily blog for Japanese kawaii brands and characters, and the independent designer/makers inspired by them.
- 2008: Self-published my first Tokyo Shopping Guide zine after my second trip to Japan.
- 2008: Started licensing my characters and patterns for print-on-demand sites including Zazzle, Society6 and Spoonflower.
- 2010: Designed ‘Sew Cute’ rain boots for Plueys
- 2017: Signed my first book contract with Pop Press/Penguin Books to write The Super Cute Book of Kawaii
- 2018: Successfully completed The 100 Day Project with 100 Days of Kawaii Characters
- 2019: The Super Cute Book of Kawaii was published. Started working with Pusheen Box on sponsored reviews.
- 2020-present: currently working on freelance design projects while running Asking For Trouble & Super Cute Kawaii
- 2024: Started working with TokyoTreat & Sakuraco on sponsored content (photography & video).
Qualifications
- BA Fine Art (Printmaking)
- SQA modules in Print Media Press Production
- Microsoft Advanced User certification in Office suite
- Adobe Certified Expert
- SVQ Information Technology II
Skills
- Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign)
- Microsoft Office
- WordPress
- Shopify
- HTML & CSS
Languages
- English (fluent)
- Knowledge of German, Dutch & Japanese
Clients
I’ve worked on projects for fantastic clients, including Pusheen, Plueys, Folksy, 5pm.co.uk, Shopify, iomart Group (Easyspace and Netintelligence), The University of Glasgow (projects for Unicef, the Home Office, Save the Children, UNHCR) and Channel 4 IdeasFactory.