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March 4, 2016 —

Meet the 91 team: Laura Pashby (Deputy Editor)

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This month we find out a little more about our deputy editor, Laura. You can read a bit more about Laura’s career as a photographer and writer over on our About page, and also pop over to her own personal blog, Circle of Pine Trees, which is a beautiful read as well as a visual delight. 

Tell us about your morning routine… With three small sons, I’m invariably woken early, usually as one or more of them clambers into our bed for a cuddle. School mornings are utterly hectic. My husband gets up first and gives the boys their breakfast, whilst I quickly check Instagram (it’s an addiction!), and then get dressed. I often don’t manage to have my own breakfast in the chaos of lost shoes and last minute requests for PE kit. After the rush of the school run, my youngest (he’s two) and I wander home. I have some yoghurt and cereal and a coffee, whilst he does a puzzle or plays.

Other than 91 Magazine (of course!) what do you like to read? I’m a total bookworm, and always have been. I always have a novel or two on the go. I also love reading cookery books, photography books, and the occasional page or two of poetry, too. A couple of years ago, I started a project on my blog called #theyearinbooks, to encourage myself to read more. I host a monthly Twitter chat, and as a result, I have a perpetually long ‘to-read’ list of book recommendations from fellow participants. In terms of magazines, I love other indie mags such as Lionheart, Oh Comely, Cereal and The Simple Things.

Image by Laura Pashby ( @circleofpines on Instagram)

Image by Laura Pashby ( @circleofpines on Instagram)

Describe a corner of your home that you particularly love. My desk is the one corner of the house that is mine alone. It’s an old oak bureau that we bought from the local auction house for £30. It sits in an alcove at the far end of the knock-through sitting room, beside a sash window with a view of the distant hill. There are three shelves above it with a selection of treasures: books, vintage cameras, my knitting basket, shells and pebbles from trips to the beach… The desk is crammed with stationery, pens and notebooks. Currently balanced on top of the pile is a copy of Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying. I think that I might be a lost cause, though!

If you could be whisked away for the weekend to any destination in the world, where would you chose? This is a tricky one! There are so many places that I’d love to go. I think, though, if you pushed me, that I’d go for Scandinavia. I’d be torn between Sweden- it would be magical to visit for Midsummer- and Finland, so that I could make a trip to Klovharu, the island where author Tove Jannsson spent her summers. It was the setting for her novel, The Summer Book: a book that I adore.

What’s the best advice that you’ve ever been given? Much of the good advice that I’ve been given came from my Granny, a kind and wise Yorkshire-woman. She taught me a lot of things, ranging from ‘never sleep on an argument’ to ‘don’t be afraid to show your legs’, but most of all she taught me the value of kindness, and of gratitude.

What’s your radio tuned to? Usually to BBC 6 Music, particularly on a Sunday afternoon for Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service. I could listen to him speaking all day! I also listen to BBC Radio 4 when I’m home alone with the smallest one.

Image by Laura Pashby (@circleofpines on Instagram)

Image by Laura Pashby (@circleofpines on Instagram)

What’s your most treasured flea market find? I have so many! Just this week, though, I broke a beautiful blue and white china cake stand that I had bought from a French Brocante a couple of summers ago. I was so upset- it was irreplaceable.

What was the last thing that you made by hand? After a slight hiatus, I’ve recently started knitting again. I just finished a cabled grey hat- now I need to make a big pompom for the top.

What are your home styling essentials? Am I allowed to confess that my home isn’t exactly what you’d call styled?! If I’m styling a photograph, though, I try to think about things like adding texture, using odd numbers of items and allowing a wabi-sabi element of imperfection.

Can you share a tip for other creative freelancers? I’d say that you should believe in yourself and your abilities. That, and invest in a really good planner notebook…

Image by Laura Pashby (@circleofpines on Instagram)

Image by Laura Pashby (@circleofpines on Instagram)

Some quick fire Qs…

Tea or coffee? Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon.

Early bird or night owl? Night owl (although I have to be an early bird, thanks to the boys!)

 Summer or Winter? Summer, please!

Twitter or Instagram? (Who do you follow?) Instagram. Always Instagram. I’m @circleofpines over there.  My favourites include: @dollyandfife, @fionaannal, @littlegreenshed, @thefuturekept, @cecilemoli, @me_and_orla, @marte_marie_fosberg and @jo_rodgers.

Favourite flower? I can’t choose just one! Lilac, dahlia, rose, cow parsley, muscari, to name but a few…

And finally… tell us a secret or something surprising about yourself. I always wear jasmine perfume because it reminds me of the sweet scent that drifted up through the bedroom window of the house in Thailand where I lived for a year before university.

Thanks Laura! next month we will be meeting our sub editor Kath Webber. 

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