Welcome to The Cosy Café — a New Corner of Art Magic ☕️

It had been rattling round my head for a while: how to open up a little more of my world to you — something sweet and tasty and fun — without it becoming yet another job on the pile, or the kind of thing that stifles the creative bursts that keep my art magic alive. Those bursts are what send my work out into the universe to inspire and encourage others, so I have to protect them.

So I had a good old brainstorm with myself. What would tempt me? What would be a joy to share? What would add a spark of fun for my paid coven members too — my magical besties? 💕

I love to natter, to notice, to share what I spot — and I used to adore my Cuppa and Chat sessions. But throwing them out into the vast abyss that YouTube has become felt rather like shouting into the void. I wanted them to feel more personal, more special. Intimate, like a chat over coffee and cake in a little café. And with that, The Cosy Café was born.

I'll be honest with you, because I always try to be: I'm in the middle of changing how I do things. Finding new ways to create, to share, to connect. And change, however good, is rarely pain-free. I keep thinking about how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly — which, it turns out, is not a beautiful process. Let's call it the "soup stage." 😳

Here's what I learned, and it rather comforted me.

Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar digests itself — releasing enzymes that dissolve almost all of its own tissues into a nutrient-rich slurry known, wonderfully, as "caterpillar soup." But it doesn't entirely melt into mush. Small clusters of cells called imaginal discs survive completely intact — pre-programmed since the egg — and they use that nourishing soup as fuel, dividing rapidly to build the adult body from scratch: wings, antennae, eyes, legs. And here's the part that gets me — studies suggest parts of the caterpillar's nervous system survive the whole biological blender, so the butterfly can still carry memories from its caterpillar days. 🦋

So I decided I'm in my own Magic Soup stage — and somehow it all felt better. I'm testing new ways of being and doing. I don't yet know which will carry me into butterfly-hood, and I'm willing to experiment. I might end up a moth — but that's OK, I rather like moths too.

And the first new wing I'm growing is this: The Cosy Café.

It's a warm little corner of my website — a taste of Art Magic for just £3 a month. Pull up a chair and you'll find:

• ☕ a monthly Cuppa & a Chat — my cosy natters, just for us

• 🪄 a crafty project to make

• 👀 behind-the-scenes peeks into the studio, the garden and the general chaos

• 🍪 a little nibble to download

• and a seat at our community table, among kindred art witches

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It's the gentlest way into my world — somewhere to dip a toe a little deeper, with no grand commitment at all. And of course, all my existing paid members get the keys to the Café too. 💕

Good things take time to grow, so I'm in no hurry. Like the butterfly, I'll build my new wings steadily and enjoy the process as it unfolds. I wonder how beautiful it will be? I'd love for you to pull up a chair and find out alongside me.

👉 Join The Cosy Café

Life is full of magic, if you let it in. ✨🥣✨