I'm beeyond excited to be able to share details of a fab commission I've been busy working on over the summer this year. I was asked by the Scottish Parliament to create an exclusive range of giftware for their gift shop - all about bees!
I don't know about you, but I had no idea that the Parliament has its very own beehives onsite in the Members' Garden, and that they've started selling their very own honey! To say I was excited was an understatement.
In a strange twist of fate, I grew up a stone's throw from the site of the Parliament (in fact my school sports days took place roughly where the Members' Garden is now) and I've spent years drawing and photographing various details and aspects of the building.
When I was given the commission brief, I immediately knew I wanted to bring in some of those architectural details which had caught my eye and imagination over the past decade (and a bit). The details which have worked their way into the final designs include the iconic boat shaped windows, bamboo strips and patterned concrete sections. It was an absolute joy to combine these quite structural, hard edged shapes and textures with the natural, delicate beauty of the bees themselves.
The collection includes mugs, cards, tea towels, cushions, tote bags, coasters, magnets and notebooks, and is available now from the Scottish Parliament Gift Shop.
