The Monthly Almanac began gradually, as many meaningful things do.
For over 15 years now, I have been gathering knowledge — sometimes intentionally, sometimes almost by accident — about the natural world and how humans have lived alongside it. Much of this research began through my work with natural and botanical ingredients, originally for cosmetic use, then gradually widening to include culinary, health, and household traditions. Over time, these threads became inseparable from my love of folklore, customs, and the rhythms that once shaped everyday life.
Alongside this sits my artist’s way of seeing the world. Learning to really look at what grows in the ancient Cornish hedgerows, at what flowers when, at what birds pass through, at what fungi appear almost unnoticed underfoot. Illustration and painting have been my way of slowing down enough to notice these things, and of responding to them with care.
The Monthly Almanac grew from a desire to bring all of this together in one place, and to share it.
I wanted to create something almost nostalgic — something that anchors people to a quieter way of life. Something that allows the time to enjoy a slower, more deliberate rhythm in an age of constant rushing. The Almanac is an invitation to give yourself permission to pause, to read and absorb rather than skim, and to savour the quiet moments that so easily slip past.
It is also meant to be something tangible to look forward to. A physical object that arrives with the turning of the month, offering a sense of continuity and anticipation, and gradually building into a small, meaningful archive over time.
At its heart, the Almanac is about preservation. About holding on to folklore, plant lore, customs, and seasonal knowledge so that they are not lost. These stories and practices have been passed from person to person for centuries, and I believe they still matter — perhaps now more than ever.
In many ways, this project is also a response to the phase that humanity seems to be heading into. The rise of artificial intelligence, and the increasing presence of generated art, music, and writing, has left some of us feeling cold and disconnected. It can feel as though centuries of artistic process, sensory experience, and deep attention to the natural world are being pushed aside.
For millennia, human creativity has been shaped by touch, sound, scent, memory, and place. Art, music, storytelling, and craft have always been reflections of our inner lives and our relationship with the living world around us. Ways of understanding ourselves and staying connected to one another. I believe it is this connection — to nature, to seasonality, and to ancestry — that will help us endure beyond this artificial age.
I also believe there are enough people who share this view, even if sometimes it feels impossible. People who feel the pull towards something slower, more rooted, and more human.
The Monthly Almanac is for those people.
It is intended to help deepen your own personal connection to nature and to those who came before you. Each box is built around the month ahead and includes a small, thoughtful collection: two seasonal product samples, two signed art prints, and a printed monthly calendar marking key dates and moon phases. You will also receive a bookmark or card to keep or share, and at the centre of it all, a 24-page fully illustrated zine.
The zine explores what is unfolding in nature that month — animals, plants, and fungi — alongside their folklore, magical associations, customs, and traditional dates for the diary. Not so you can stress about dates, but to encourage you to notice and appreciate each day and recognise what makes each day special.
My hope is that you might take some time out of your day to sit with it. To read slowly. To savour the writing and illustrations. To reflect on how deeply magical many ordinary plants are, and how they can still be woven into modern life in simple ways.
Make a cup of tea or coffee. Settle somewhere comfortable. You never know — there may be something in your Almanac that you can taste, use, or enjoy in a very tangible way!
Above all, I hope the Monthly Almanac helps you savour each month more fully. To observe the nature around you. To feel grateful for it. And to remember that paying attention, creating by hand, and sharing stories are some of the most human things we can do.
I really hope you will enjoy receiving it as much as I have enjoyed writing, painting and creating it!