September 2025

I was approached by a client who wanted an illustration as a gift for their close friend's milestone birthday. She described her friend as the "person who has everything", and was looking for something unique and meaningful to give her. Initially the client envisioned a large work on paper, in similar fashion to my pet portraits, with vignettes of scenes and items that represented and celebrated her friend's life and achievements. As the list of potential illustrations grew, I suggested we collate the imagery into a handmade concertina book. A concertina, or accordion book, uses a long strip of paper, folded into zig-zags. The book can be flipped through page by page, or stretched out to reveal a flowing scroll-like design. The zig-zag folds allow the book to stand up as a display piece, or be neatly tucked away into a keepsake box. I worked in collaboration with the client to design symbolic imagery, drawing from provided reference imagery where possible. The illustrations were completed in watercolours and colour pencil, and the patterned book covers were created in ink.