The Wanderlust Issue #7

December 2024

Dec 16, 2024

Welcome to issue #7 of The Wanderlust, my monthly zine where I share what I’m up to, some of my current loves, places, travel stories and freebies.

The last few weeks have been the most festive I’ve felt in years! I’ve made time to create a wreath (or 2), watch Christmas movies, got my tree up earlier than any year before and enjoyed a trip down to a sunny (freezing!) Glasgow.

We started the day off at a coffee shop and roasters we’ve never been to before, Hinba. They have quite a few branches across the city, we chose the one on Dumbarton Road. It was a short stroll over to the Tea Green market at Kelvingrove museum for some Christmas shopping. The standard at their events is always so high and it was lovely chatting to some of the small businesses and hearing that the event had been great for them. I loved seeing the colourful work of Risotto Studio (who I’ve bought from countless times), Irregular Sleep Pattern and Kate Colin. We sauntered through our old neighbourhood and on down to The Last Bookstore for a late lunch. Great food, great atmosphere and lovely staff!

That’s it for 2024. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and festive end to the year, whatever you’re celebrating! I’ll be back in January with Issue #8.

Time to read: 6 mins

Time to dance: 2 mins 54 secs

At this time of year, as I start to wind down and have a little more headspace, my brain goes over all the places I’d like to visit next year. The traditions I want to create that I haven’t had time for and events that I really don’t want to miss.

I mentioned last month that we’ve made seeing a Christmas movie in one of the more atmospheric cinemas a new tradition. Well every year, it’s gets to early December and I remember that I’d really like to visit one of Europe’s amazing Christmas markets but it’s always too late. So that’s my next tradition that I’d love to add and plan ahead for. Most of the markets tend to open late November and go on until at least mid December. Lonely Planet has a great round up of some of the best ones to visit so that’s where I’m going to start.
On the theme of Winter escapes - back in 2018 we booked a very last minute getaway up at Beauly with Wilderness Cottages for a few days after Christmas. We booked it on the 27th and arrived up there on the 28th! I’m a big fan of a spontaneous trip and I’ve shared quite a few Scottish stays in earlier issues of The Wanderlust so a last minute Wintery getaway is high on the list sometime before we’re back at our desks in January.
I like to kick off the new year with a long walk to blast away the lethargy from spending too much time on the couch eating far too much chocolate orange! I’ve mentioned before that Glen Affric is a very special place for me. There are loads of walks to choose from but it’s the Loch Affric Circuit that I’m interested in.
The Scottish Snowdrop Festival runs from the end of January until mid March with so many places to see them. Last year we went along to Cambo Gardens in Fife and this year I’ll be adding Branklyn Garden in Perth to the list to visit. Both do a great lunch too!

With just over a week until Christmas, I’m giving you a round up of all the small businesses I’ve shared this year. A list for you to take into 2025 and refer back to. I’ve even been lucky enough to buy from some of them.

The Lust List began in April this year with Emily Van Hoff. I’m completely in love with her amazing, colourful quilted wall hangings.
I came across Rosie McLay’s art and loved her black and white etchings which she adds touches of gold to.
This piece, called Show Me The Way To The Sea, by Kit Johns smacked me in the face when I saw it. Love, love, love his Map Collection!
May saw me share the work of Frank Moth. Their futuristic digital collages of space hit the perfect nostalgia spot and I’m lucky enough to now own one.
There are so many Basil & Ford prints that I could’ve shared with you but, Music Sounds Better with You was a favourite song from my youth so when I saw the print, I immediately added it to my lust list!
I came across Lumie Glass and it was an instant follow. Carolyne’s colourful art deco sun catchers are amazing.
Love, love love the work of Heidi Clover! She’s a potter based in Devon and her colourful mugs and plates make a bold, retro statement.
July saw me find Izzy Mcfarlane and it was another instant follow. Her Barbican Collection of plates and mugs are so cool! I love that combo of geometric shapes and colour.
Anyone who knows me will tell you I drink a ridiculous amount of tea, so when I saw this adventure flask from Hibear with the pretty colours and the retro styling, it immediately made the list!
Paper Shoot is a disposable style digital camera made from repurposed, recycled or biodegradable materials. A fun little camera board with tonnes of skins to choose from.
I discovered Kalle Hellzén and love his colourful, distinctive art. His limited editions are only available for a short time after release and you can enjoy watching how he creates them on his socials.
August saw me discover Laura K Sayers and I lost about an hour watching her put together her exquisite mini artworks. She’s an illustrator and paper artist based in Glasgow and the detail and colour in her work is beautiful. I even grabbed a couple of her Christmas cards.
I’m a sucker for a classic brown leather bag but I’ve never come across one before that looks great and can house my camera(s) safely for a city break too. Created by a photographer, Kindly have a range of different styles and sizes.
Miesje Chafer’s colourful work caught my eye and I fell in love with her beaded pieces and colourful textiles. She turns her hand to so many crafts and nails them all!
I loved finding the videos of Kenny Sing at Turn Studio showing how he creates his ceramics using stencils and moulds to create amazing patterns and textures. His work sells out super fast for a reason!
October saw me share this little saucepot from Wordplay Clay which I’m now the lucky owner of! I absolutely love the fun ceramics Jess creates. Perfectly selected phrases and clean, simple design.
The blankets from Slowdown Studio have been on my wishlist for years. The brand collaborate with artists from all over the world to create colourful statement pieces woven from recycled cotton that would look just as amazing hanging on the wall.
Glasgow based illustrator Natalie from Nebo Peklo has created a series of artworks celebrating the city’s brutalist architecture. Featuring buildings like the College of Building and Printing and my personal favourite, the Gallowgate Twins.
The Roam Collection of maps from 42 Pressed are pulled by hand in their studio on a vintage cylinder letterpress and finished with copper detailing. “We travel, we explore, we experiment, we reflect, and as a result, WE CREATE.” I love that!
East End Press is a design and print studio based in Bridgeton in Glasgow, creating the most colourful paper decorations, prints and cards.
When I saw these cards from Studio 55 Letterpress with their simple typography and bold colour they went straight on the list. Paul is a graphic designer and hand makes each card in his Cotswolds studio on his restored, vintage 1915 press ‘Mary’.
When I saw that Esther from Origami Est had created a reusable cracker kit I had to take a look! They came in 3 paper styles and I chose Kitty McCall patterns which I’m really looking forward to making.

I’m taking you back to 2009 this month and a break to Belgium. We started in Brussels and travelled by train to Bruges and Ghent. The Grand Place, or Grote Markt, in central Brussels is beautiful lit up at night. It had rained for hours and the streets had been empty. The rain briefly stopped and hundreds of tourists started spilling out into the square to take pictures. I managed to grab a few shots before the rain came back on and the crowds disappeared again.