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CHASING LIGHT

23rd January 2020

Well hello, and yes, it feels like it’s been forever. Which it has been considering that my last post here was back in May 2019 when I decided to take a few months break from blogging (as I wasn’t feeling inspired) and then I just didn’t come back. And in all honesty, I didn’t think that I was coming back. I was planning a different blog, a more personal one, and I had a new domain (with a name I love), and was thinking about a new design (always exciting), and then I had a convo with my amazing designer Odysseas of 286Blue, who created this blog back in 2015, and he pointed out (not for the first time) that any blog can evolve. I’ve said it myself, I know, but I was itching for something new. A fresh start. But Odysseas suggested that I simply change things up a little. Add new content if I felt like it. But don’t throw away everything that’s already been created here.

Which was wise advice, I know, particularly as I still want to blog about interiors and design. Most of what appears here will still be about interiors and design. But also, I really want to write about vegan living and what that means in terms of design and interiors and clothing and skincare and … the choices we make. This is something I’m passionate about and it feels like a great time to explore this.

And while discussing ethical choices, how do we also make choices that impact less on our planet? Even in the months I’ve been away from this blog, I’ve seen the conversations changing on my Instagram feed. The perspective shifting. Maybe it’s because I’m also seeking out these conversations, but I can see that more and more people are now talking about issues around sustainability, about what it means, and how to do this better. How does this impact on the choices we make individually, and for independent brands and designers? How does this translate into the way we create our homes and how we source products? The pieces we select for our wardrobes? The brands we choose to purchase from and the questions we ask of them?

And, quite simply, I want to write about places. The places I enjoy and long to escape to at weekends. Being out in nature, chasing light in the middle of winter, as we were here, walking the coastal path from Gullane towards Aberlady on Hogmanay. We wanted to see the last sunset of 2019 by the sea, and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day, or more perfect light.

When I looked back on 2019, the content I had enjoyed sharing most was on Steller: the places, the walks, the sunsets, the weekend adventures. These were the stories I had engaged with most when telling them, and this was also the kind of content that I was drawn to reading about elsewhere. So it feels like the right time to start sharing these stories here too. Does this work on a blog that, until now, has been all about design? To be honest, I’ve no idea, but let’s see how it goes.

And this walk? Well this has turned into a favourite of ours, although we only ‘discovered’ it last year when Richard suggested trying a different walk one Friday evening back in September. We usually park at the top of Hill Road in Gullane, and start the walk from the golf course, following the path that runs along the edge of the course, looking out to sea. The path eventually winds down to this shelly beach, and the access point is between the WW2 sea defences – those concrete blocks you can see in one of the photos above – where a skinny path leads through the gorse. While this isn’t a particularly long walk, the views are incredible, and if you time it for low tide you can then head back along the beach to Gullane, taking a longer circular route. If you enjoy coastal walks as much as we do, I’d recommend the Tide Pro app – you can find it here from the App Store or here from Google Play.

On this afternoon on December 31, the incoming tide was already lapping over the rocks by the time we reached the beach, and we knew there wasn’t much daylight left, so we simply retraced our steps, returning along the coastal path, watching the sun set over the calm, calm sea. It was beautiful. And it felt like a great way to end the year.

Coastal walk at Gullane, East Lothian, Hogmanay 2019.

See more from this walk on my Steller story here.