Do you remember Sophie Crichton, who created this wonderful chair for our Out of the Dark auction?
Aside from being a dab hand with a paint brush and staple gun, she's also a talented illustrator - and we couldn't wait to share her work with you!
London-based Sophie has been drawing 'for as long as she can remember', after catching the bug from her illustrator dad.
"Wherever he went he always had a sketchbook with him and sometimes he would draw pictures for me and my friends and I would colour them in," she explained. "I remember painting the landscape on holiday with my first set of watercolours. I must have only been about 5 years old."
Sophie went on to study at Kingston University, before becoming a freelance illustrator. Her commissions ranged from artwork for a production house, to editorial illustrations for The Guardian.
We love the way Sophie uses drawing to document each new adventure - whether it's teaching in Thailand (where she also worked on a school colouring competition for the Phuket newspaper), or falling pregnant with her daughter, Olivia.
"Having
Olivia has been so far one of the most enlightening things I've ever done," She said. "Her
little personality that develops daily fuels many a doodle in my
sketchbook!"
That might just be the cutest pregnancy announcement we've ever seen!
Now back in England, Sophie has been working on a series of colouring and activity books for Usbourne Publishing. And, when she's not sketching - or jotting down ideas for her own picture book - she also runs upcycling blog Deco Dolly.
"Home
for me, where I live and work, play a big part in my creativity," She added. "When I have
time away from work and being a mum, I can be found wondering antique and
charity shops, grabbing wooden bargains and painting them up in bright and
beautiful colours."
Little wonder people were clamouring to snap-up this talented mum's OOTD chair!
Keep up-to-date with Sophie's doodling over at her blog - or learn more about her work here.