Hello, and welcome to my website! I’m Hannah and I’m a children’s illustrator, writer and doll-maker based in Trieste, Italy. In my illustrations I combine line drawing, paper and textile collage, knitted textures and even hand embroidery to create unique and textured work. This makerly approach stems from my doll-making work and my love of textiles and yarn. For me writing, sewing, knitting and drawing are all tools I can use to tell stories, and picture books are a perfect way to bring them together.
I love finding fun and crafty ways to present my work, like folding my pdf printed one-sheets (a single sheet containing my bio, some images and my latest book pitch) into self-contained envelopes:
I began working with textiles for a project commissioned by a local Edinburgh cafe which involved knitting 16 tiny red jumpers and making an illustration and story for each.You can read all about it here. It was so much fun that I kept on combining fabric and paper to make 2D or 3D work like this piece:
First I build/collage/cut out elements of an illustration in my studio, then I assemble and photograph them using natural light, and finally I edit the images digitally with my laptop and a good cup of tea. Taking my own photos gives me more freedom and flexibility to make changes and makes the process much quicker. Once our house renovations are done and everything is in its proper place again I’m planning a more permanent photography set-up than this one!
In 2018 I was awarded the Moniack Mhor Writing for Children award, and the Margaret Carey Scholarship for Illustration. In 2019 I moved with my family from Edinburgh to Trieste and spent some time finding my feet and picking up my work again with all the challenges and inspirations of a new place.
In November 2022 I won the SCBWI British Isles conference Pitch competition: I had 90 seconds to deliver a pitch for my book idea on stage in front of the conference participants and a panel of industry professionals. It was an exhilarating experience and I was very excited to be selected as the winner! Thank you SCBWI for organising this wonderful opportunity.
I am currently working on my author/illustrator portfolio for submission to agents and publishers.
I don’t need to tell you that I love books, and especially picture books, so here are some other things I love:
Wool, knitting, making dolls,
my family, being outdoors with my family, making music (I play the cello and sing, that’s me in the middle there!),
and the beautiful, colourful, tiny wonders of nature.
Thank you for being here, I hope you enjoy my work. Do get in touch if you’d like to know more or have a project for me.
Member of the Association of Illustrators and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
