Moving to Devon: new studio, new home!
I’ve moved – Stuart and I live in Devon now! And I have a new studio; my fabulous co-author Philip Reeve is generously letting me set up table in his for awhile:
Philip and I have created nine books together now. And one great benefit of living nearby is going to be making it easier to work together on our new series, soon to be announced!
It will also let us team up to support local bookshops in person; here we are at The Bookery in Crediton (where I designed the lettering and rooks on the front sign), Kevin at Max Minerva’s Marvellous Books in Bristol, The East Gate Bookshop in Totnes, and Astor’s Bookshop in Chagford. We’re also hoping to visit Dogberry & Finch in Oakhampton, The Ivybridge Bookshop in Ivybridge, Book Stop in Tavistock and any other local bookshops that would appreciate a boost.
Stuart and I aren’t moving because we’re tired of London… we love London, and we’re going to miss our lovely neighbours. (Here’s a picture of Studio Baby, who has moved away now, but was always popping in to say hello.)
And here’s a painting I made of our studio building, which was a wonderful family bubble in Covid lockdown. Again, several residents have moved away now, but I wanted to capture a moment in time, full of great memories. (The little angels flitting overhead are a nod to the Sisters of St John the Divine, who used to run the place as a midwifery. You might have heard of them from the BBC show Call the Midwife.)
This was my London studio desk, which kind of felt like the flight-deck controls of my spaceship; I’d strap in each morning and take off. The bulletin boards had layers and layers of things I’d pinned up, so taking them down was sort of an archaological excavation.
The desk was so well built that I had no idea how to take it down, so the original carpenter who made it – artist Gordon Dawson – came back to disassemble it. It was kind of hard watching it come to pieces, but hopefully I’ll be able to rebuild it somewhere else.
My friend Eddie Smith, a sculptor who helped me run an art gallery in Camberwell for six years, came and helped us take apart the futon sofa…
And a team of patient Bulgarian removers helped us haul out 22 years of (mostly my) stuff, which was no easy task.
Then Stuart and I loaded up a rental van at the flat and the studio and set out West, all in one day, which had us nearly gibbering with exhaustion by the time we reached the Reeve house on Dartmoor. (Moving was pretty traumatic!)
We’ve had over a week to recover now, and the Reeve family are letting us stay with them while we look for a new place. It’s great being here; a few mornings ago, Stuart and I climbed up to the top of a big hill with their dog, Frodo, to see the sun rise, and we felt much more peaceful about everything.
Stuart’s finished a job of 38 years, but still helping me with my work at least one day a week, and we’re excited to see what the future will hold. Lots of walks, hopefully! I really turned into a potato during lockdown, and it will be great to get more fit.
Huge thanks to the best friends anyone could have, Philip and Sarah Reeve, who took us in and have been looking after us so well. My aunt asked me if we were doing our bit with the washing up and all that, and I hope we’re pulling our weight! Thank you, Philip and Sarah!
You can follow them on Instagram – @thesolitarybee and @moorland – and see a bit of what they’re getting up to over on Philip’s blog (it’s all very Arthurian).
New adventures await, and I’ll try to post what I get up to. You can also follow me on Instagram – @jabberworks – and Twitter – also @jabberworks.
Edit – Adding some more local shops here (as a note to self): Browser Books in Dartmouth,
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