Based in Bethnal Green, London, Naomi creates limited edition collections for her shop Bikis Ceramics. Her work explores undulating sculptural forms influenced by 1970s product design and ancient functional ceramics. Using a mixture of underglazes, coloured slips and glazes, she experiments with hyper-glossy work alongside rough, textured pieces that require multiple firings and glazes.

Naomi is from a small seaside town on the South coast of England. She moved there to study journalism and worked in fashion for years as a writer and editor. Naomi used to write about creative people living their passions and dreams. That motivated her to start her own business while still maintaining her freelance writing. Her initial attraction to clay started at a point of discomfort and discontent – the fashion industry had stopped inspiring her and she wanted to try something different. She decided to start a short ceramics course at her community center… and immediately fell for it.

Shortly thereafter, Naomi launched Bikis Ceramics. She runs her business from her one-bedroom flat and she is now also living her passion and dreams. Working with clay has taught her to ease into her learning process and to never give up – quite literally, she has learned to be comfortable with failure: "You can spend weeks on a piece for it to do something horrid in the kiln and come out putrid yellow. And you can’t give up, otherwise you’ve wasted a bag of clay and studio rent." – She says to Anyonegirl.

Through a turn of events, she is now inspired by fashion, the human body, the ribs of shells, the sand when the tide has rolled out and, wait for it: imperfection – yes, in a world obsessed with perfinction, Naomi is inspired by everything that’s not.

Naomi’s career, process and work is a true inspiration for other women striving to do what they love. What we can take away from her story and her work is to do the things that set our souls on fire. That makes us jump out of bed to live our passions and our dreams.

ph. stephanie mcleod and philippa johnson

ana degenaar

I'm a firm believer that trying out new food causes the same level of endorphins to run through your body as traveling to a new place does. Also, the stranger the better. Of course, I'm not a scientist and that hypothesis could very well be dismissed by one – but, not offense to scientists, I've know that for a fact since I was 4.

Growing up, my parents never gave us "kiddie" food. We were not presented with a plate of cutely chopped up fruit and nuggets at the dinner table. Instead, we were sat down in front of assortments of food, which if it hadn't been for the normality of it all, I'd have found terrifying to say the least. In my mother's repertoire there were oven baked fish (skin, bones, HEAD and all), bone broth, an assortment of seafood that ranged from raw fish to still-moving raw clams and much more. And now in my advanced age of "ahem!" those are the sorts of things I crave.

Yes, the try-everything-once mentality I carried on from those years has gotten me into a bit of trouble. I've had the sad luck of eating some treacherous, salmonella-inducing dishes in my lifetime (all of those tried away from home)... but as many deep thinkers would say, "You gotta risk it to get the biscuit". The biscuit, in this case, is that rush I mentioned before.

I digress.

This ceviche was a weekend favorite in my house and I still regard it with the same awe today. I don't really know if you can call this "cooking" but for the sake of sharing some happiness with you, I’ll share my recipe for – let’s call it, "Ana's Must-Eat Cevish"… No? Ok, then.

Leche de Tigre (say that three times) or "Tiger's Milk", is a Peruvian concoction traditionally made from the citrusy marinade of ceviche. And this is what will go into the chopped up fish:

The Recipe

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1/3 cup of fresh orange juice
1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
1/2 garlic clove
Kosher salt to taste

Puree all the ingredients in a blender and you're done!

Next, you will also need:

1/2 ounces of your favorite semi firm fish
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup of diced avocado
1/2 teaspoon of chili flakes or fresh chili
Chili oil, half a lime and some sort of springs for serving. I personally prefer coriander.

Now for the hardest part (just kidding):

Cut the fish in equal size cubes (it helps if everything is cooked in the tiger milk at the same time) and pour the concoction plus the rest of the ingredients you prepared earlier and toss gently to combine; let it sit for 5 minutes and add your chili oil and coriander springs. Taste to see if it needs more lime or salt and serve that with a crunchy side dish.

I like mine with chips. The ones pictured above are sweet potato chips.

… and just like that, you've made yourself a bowl of your next obsession. Avocado toast, who?

Nelson Garrido


Casas na Areia is a paradisiac destination and micro hotel that has proven to deliver greatly.

Located one hour South of Lisbon in an ocean-side region known for its magnificent white-sand beaches, fresh seafood and excellent wine. The hotel co-exists with the Sado River without trying to be anything but an honest place of rest and relaxation.

The subdued decor and organic architecture of these four bungalows were extremely well thought out. Designed by Manuel Aires Mateus, the mission was to break barriers between the outer and the inner space, bringing nature in, quite literally, bearing all the flooring and having sand throughout the main cabin — thus provoking a communion with nature inside and out.

It’s commendable to see more and more architects trying to share with nature rather than imposing themselves on it. We're coming into a beautiful time of realizing how stunningly "enough" the world already is and how little we need to bother it on order to make it comfortable and functional.

The fully minimalist interiors have everything you need and attest to the beauty of a less-is-more mentality and my wandering soul simply aches to visit some day. I fell for it at the first sight of those thatched roofs and sandy floors.

I don’t remember too much about my early years, but something I think about a lot – especially recently – is what it was from my childhood that made me so daring and so determined. It might be a side effect of feeling that over the years I’ve become less and less the daredevil protagonist of my life and that I’ve fallen into the back seat, taking the place of a spectator.

Maybe it’s a natural process in life to become more fearful and less fearless... or maybe it’s that I’ve gone through an unfortunate series of adverse events in the past couple of years – but recently, I’ve felt as if life has slammed shut on me like an indecipherable book.

For the first half of 2018, I’ve been listening to a little voice in my head telling me, “2018 was supposed to be the year… this isn’t supposed to be happening…” – driving me to my next panic attack and making me race through my days in desperation. No, there haven’t been any quiet mornings with a teacup in hand. Instead, my rude inner clock has punched me in the gut and propelled me out of bed through sheer anxiety.

I’ve reminded myself in an equally rude way, every single morning, that this is not how I’M supposed to react, that feeling this way and running the gauntlet of every emotion wasn’t like me. What about everything else I believed in? What about optimism, faith, mindfulness, relentlessness… what about all that? I dismissed my thoughts as quick as I could, jumping with both feet into my work and ridding myself of them in a fluster – like swatting mosquitoes flying overhead… until something forced me to truly put everything in my life into perspective. A new one that is.

The reality is that I haven’t by any means been taking care of myself. I have ignored all of the tell-tale signs that I’m not in good health and the lessons learned... and gone back to being a taciturn lady – ready to die from fatigue. My endorphin-underloaded brain wanted to trick me into staying in that same old, comfortable, even butt-marked cushion on my office chair – but a familiar voice reminded me of something. And that is that character is more important than skill.

My true self wouldn’t let the things I do be a power struggle. I wouldn’t hold on to things for the sake of it… and I wouldn’t refuse change, to be molded and to be humbled.

So what does this all mean? As I take the driver’s seat again, for me it means closing some old chapters – one in specific: Taking Blog Milk Shop down and going back to my roots. Going back to working independently and putting myself somewhere at the top of my priorities each day.

I’m not going to lie. The thought of saying goodbye to something I created with such dedication, felt like folding up the proverbial tent and moving on to an unknown place before I was knocked down for good... but the further I’ve moved on from that comfortable place, the more I realize how I’m allowing myself the chance to experience that old fearless attitude in me. And for that, I’m grateful.

What’s new here, anyway? Everything!

The New Site

Worked On
February - June 2018

Collateral
Art Direction
Brand Identity
Development

Description
A step back from the traditional minimalistic hard lines and an invitation of my physical environment into my online presence, focusing on seaside nature with earthy and warm sub-tones.

Rationale
ANAAR came into being from the conjunction of my first and last name, but is also derived from the farsi name "Anar", which means "light and radiance".  The studio is located on the Brazilian North-East coast and at its core exists to create and co-create in line with minimalist and mindfulness practices.

The personal-approach design serves as an invitation to the senses.  Rich, textured and sultry imagery combine to create a brand focused on offering a particular taste and experience – unique to that of the author.

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