Just across the Pentland Firth from Orkney, in the small coastal town of Wick, is an inspiring creative entrepreneur who has combined art, with life coaching. Lisa Weller, an English Graduate who once held a career in IT, now runs successful art business, Haven House Art. A place where she sells her paintings, as well as offering classes incorporating wellbeing and creativity. With a diploma in colour therapy and […]

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At Yesnaby, in Sandwick [on the West Coast of the Orkney mainland]there lived a woman who was said to have had the power to stop bleeding without leaving her house. No matter how far distant the subject might be, once the woman had been called upon for help, the blood would stop”. Of all the powerful landscapes in Orkney, Yesnaby […]

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Ah, dreams do come true. After a long stint away from surfing in favour of sea swimming, October saw me return to it with a board that has one of my designs. Talk about nesting hearts: ocean, design, friendship, fashion, recycling, Orkney. This board captures an essence of me.   Sometimes products get damaged in the manufacturing, but I ask the makers to […]

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Tucked away in Orkney’s main town is a rather unusual house. Its Victorian exterior might not stand out from the rest of the street, but hidden inside is an interior full of playful design and vibrant colour choices. The home of Jay Jennings of Instagram account paintthetownpastel, the house is an inspiring display of what some paint, perseverance and creativity can achieve. This dream house to anyone who adores […]

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2020 has been quite a year, but 2019 was for me, a more traumatic one. And I became brittle. Serendipity provided a home by the beach, room for my dog and horses and a beach on my front garden. On 1 December 2019, I decided to start swimming in the sea. It became a daily habit. […]

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2020 has been a trying year. Life has been shaken up in ways we could never have imagined. But if there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s that pleasure can sometimes be gained from the smallest of things. Many of us have spent much more time outdoors than we ever have before, and if you’re lucky enough to live somewhere with as much natural […]

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Lockdown is still with us. I prefer not to focus on what we can’t do, but what we can do right now. With that in mind, and as September is my birthday month (I like to celebrate all month), I challenged myself to do as many new and different things as I could. It took me further than I ever dreamed. A visit from a TV crew BBC’s ‘Home of […]

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Lockdown,  Fitness and wellbeing tips As gleamed with a chat with Steven Logie, Strength 101 Gym One positive of lockdown has been that I am really enjoying getting to know people a little better while social distancing through facetime and zoom coffee breaks.  Recently I spoke to Steven Logie (FYI has just completed his nutrition […]

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Marie Kondo, if you haven’t heard of her yet its time you did.  She is a Japanese organising sensation.I first heard of her books from a friend and was quite surprised that Laura, a friend who would role her eyes at the mere mention which fitted a domestic category, was obsessed with the KonMari movement.  […]

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Over the past ten years I have been incredibly lucky to travel a lot with my work.  Something that I have enjoyed immensely apart from one bit. Packing. Usually, I am packing garment or accessory samples also which can make for a very cramped suitcase. Over this time I tried and tested this method and […]

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