An unusual birthday present

It was my birthday on Sunday and I had the most wonderful present from a good friend in the shape of the opportunity to shoot an absolutely gorgeous model.  When we were at the National Portrait Gallery to see the BP Portrait Prize exhibition earlier this year we were drawn to a beautiful nude which we were surprised to see that his uncle had collaborated on with the artist Louis Smith.  Fast forward six months and I receive a birthday message from Holly, the model, who has been booked by my friend for a half day shoot.

It's put a smile on my face and goes down as the most creative and thoughtful present of this year.  I can't wait to start planning an extra special shoot with her in the New Year.

Lucy Holland Smith || Handbag Designer

Lucy and I met at school in Somerset in our early teens and were friends for a few years before she moved away from our school. I have many happy memories of spending time at her lovely home. Unfortunately we lost touch and by the time she picked me up at her local station in the Cotswolds we calculated that it had been 17 years since we had last seen each other! We were soon reminiscing over tea and cake about school, people, her old cat Cherry Plum. Lucy is now a handbag designer and founder of Milo & Saint, and had me gushing over how gorgeous her bags are – they are all so very British in quality, style and even named after London streets. We took a few pics of Lucy then were quickly distracted by the love of her life her cat Woody…

The following images of some of Milo and Saint's handbags are taken from Lucy's website: