It would be a fallacy to say I have a big space because I don't. What I have is the opportunity to work with the space I've got and be creative with it. So, when the opportunity came to minimise my furniture to create a little bit of space, I jumped at it, like a rabbit who's just spotted a dangling carrot. I was only too happy to get rid of my tired-looking sofa and Divan bed that's served me well for so long I couldn't possibly squeeze any further use from them. And my decision to replace them wasn't on a whim, it was a long time coming!

As I pondered on how to replace them, I knew I didn't want to fill that space with two new furnitures. Instead, I wanted to get one multifunctional piece, to sit, sleep and use as storage. Which brought me to the conclusion that what I needed was a sofa bed and began the hunt for one that was sturdy, durable enough to withstand daily use and could last a while.

This was how I came across the most sensible piece of furniture, a three-seater sofa bed, made by Cocoon. It was a simple idea, but one that solved the problem of my limited space. It was a well thought-out piece of furniture that was a sofa by day, a double bed by night and came with added storage, in the form of two chunky arm rests, located on either side of the sofa.

When I went to Cocoon's showroom, I took one look at the sofa and was sold! Just goes to show that gifts and talents are meant to be shared. Clearly, Cocoon thought of people like me, living in minuscule spaces and invented a functional piece to help us utilise our space. It's why I love functional pieces, as they always meet a need and serve a purpose, no matter how little or big the product is.

I've posted a video below to show how this fits into my space and help free up some space in my tiny hub. Hopefully, this could inspire more forward thinking in someone else to create things which could be of great use to others. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention and this piece of furniture, invented for small spaces, certainly met my needs.

A huge thanks to those who helped me research the best sofa, by literally running around and testing out different sofa brands till we found Cocoon. Also thanks to the staff at Cocoon’s showroom, who answered my twenty questions! You guys are amazing!!

Whether making a book from scratch or customising an off-the-shelf journal like this one, the key thing for me is 'functionality'. A principle I apply to everything I do. This journal ticks all the boxes in terms of functionality and aesthetics, which means there wasn't much to change.

Then, I had a funny thought. What if someone has the same journal as me and we happen to be using our journals in the same space, at the same time. How would we tell our journals apart? The answer was simple, 'customisation'. So, I customised the journal with minimal change to its aesthetics, since the aesthetics was what drew me to the journal in the first place.

All the journal needed was a personal stamp, to make it unique and easily identifiable. For this, I used some wooden lettering, masking tape, black acrylic ink, and a sponge. That was it. I’ve posted the before and after video of the journal below, to show you don’t need much to personalise your book or journal.

I personally believe the joy of an artist comes from creating works that people can engage with. And creativity involves a great amount of toil, which is not always obvious to the people engaging with the artwork. This is why I enjoy talking to artists about their work, because hearing them explain their working processes makes me appreciate their work even more. As their working process illustrates the effort they put into creating their artwork.

Last week, I took an impromptu walk and came across an art exhibition by Pullens Yards featuring works from various artists. I met two of the participating artists and was given a tour of the exhibition. I even had a brief chat with one of the artists which you can see in the video posted below. They had woven pieces, ceramics, abstract paintings and many more. For anyone interested in seeing the exhibition, it ends on 12th December 2021 and you can visit www.pullensopen.org for more details.

Customised this USB with resin pieces I made from another project for someone with visual impairment. My aim was to make it easy for them to locate it if misplaced and also to help them identify the contents on their USB. I made a couple of these USBs which they now use to listen to  music and audio books. To help them distinguish the contents on each USB, I attached a different-shaped resin piece to each USB. I then used a jump ring to attach the resin piece, so that if they mistakenly dropped the USB, they could hear the metal sound and know they've dropped it. It was a simple idea, but one that worked nicely for the user. Just goes to show, that you don't need a grand idea to solve a problem. By thinking of what is needed, you could help  create the solution that's required.

Mama, today I celebrate you. You taught me and all your loved ones how to smile when life is far from perfect. Because of you, we've learned to smile a little bit more. Knowing that no matter how trying life gets, it won't crumble us. Mama, we've all come to the realisation that you were the love of our lives because you showed us what it truly meant to love unconditionally. Happy birthday Mama! Your baby girl, Princess number 3 (Aka Kemi-kemeh).

Collecting books is a beautiful thing but organising them is quite another. Something I discovered as I decluttered my book space. Couldn't bring myself to get rid of my books so had to figure out a way to store them albeit temporarily. The result was a makeshift bookshelf I created for now untill I figure out how to properly store them later on.

Though I grew up in the city, I was fortunate to be raised in the green parts of the city. Something I didn’t fully appreciate until recent years. Being able to playfully climb up and down the trees that surrounded my childhood home. Or energetically jump up and down, with a broken tree branch in hand, hoping to knock down an avocado fruit from the avocado tree in front of my home. Or watching my neighbour pluck palm kernels from the palm tree in our compound to make some palm oil. Or dashing round my next door neighbour's compound, to pick up the African Star Apples that littered the floor with my friends. Whilst turning our dresses into temporary Kangaroo pouches to hold our fruits in place.

Behind our home was a luscious green space that my family turned into a a seasonal farm. My siblings and I would take turns to tend to the farm and would spend time making ridges with our hoes so we could plant fresh crops. These were almost forgotten memories until my recent walk through a local community park, where I saw some colourful Euchinacea plants.

Since these flowery plants are known to have traditional medicinal properties, seeing them planted across the park, made me think they didn't grow there by chance. Out of curiosity, I decided to look it up and discovered it was indeed a local community based project. A project initiated by the local garden shop situated near the park. Their sole aim was to create an awareness of the healing properties of Euchinacea plants for passerbys like myself to glimpse. Seeing the Echinacea plants in full bloom, took me back to my childhood years. When we grew crops for a purpose and shared our harvests with friends, loved ones and those in our communities. Just like the local garden shop was doing here. As they chose to share their knowledge of Echinacea plants for the community to benefit from it. I just found it interesting that a simple walk in the park could send me back to my childhood years.

And speaking of my childhood years, I went searching for my childhood home not so long ago,  to see if it retained its charm as my family no longer reside there. Sad to say, that when I got there I couldn’t recognise the place. The community spirit had long varnished, along with any evidence of the childhood memories that I once shared there. All the homes of my childhood friends had also varnished. They were now replaced with ill-planned corporate buildings that were a sorry sight to see. Oddly enough, there were only two buildings left standing from my childhood years and one of them was my childhood home. It wasn’t as I remembered it, as the building looked ramshackled and was in dire need of a fresh coat of paint.

Guess that’s why they say, nothing lasts forever. The memories from my childhood years, will forever remind me, to cherish every moment that life will bring my way. Because tomorrow is truly promised to no one and I hope wherever life takes me, I can take those memeories with me.

Standing in front of my childhood home. How times have changed!

The colourful Echinacea plants I saw on my walk through a local community park.

It’s amazing how a fresh coat of paint can freshen-up tired looking walls and give them a new lease of life!