Drawing my wardrobe and non arty YouTube

What I bought, good telly 📺, SCBWI conference discount code, whales 🐋

I thought I’d do a round up of the stuff that’s exciting me this week. Some telly picks, some non arty YouTube, new stories coming from my kitchen table, the SCBWI conference DISCOUNT CODE, Gerry’s whale prints, drawing my wardrobe and what I bought this week:

Let’s start with YouTube binges

Re-reading this post before I pressed send I realised I’m not watching or listening to much art/ illustrationy based stuff at the moment. I am trying to work out why that might be and I think it’s because I find that stuff too engaging or distracting, and what I am searching for in my YouTube downtime is a feeling of calm. I love watching people talking about the secret nitty gritty of their lives and I love watching a job (any job: making a meal, cleaning a house) being done from start to finish, it’s so satisfying.

Rewilding Jude: In 2023 I was in a rut. I was burnt out, exhausted and grieving the death of my parents. In 2024 I knew something had to change, so I closed my business, sold my house and moved to an old stone cottage in the middle of the Scottish countryside. Join me as I attempt to renovate the cottage (and attached barn), build a back yard homestead on less than an acre, and fall in love with life, all over again.

I am loving Caroline McQuistin: cosy living by the sea and mountains in Skye, Scotland.

Caroline Winkler: very human. I started watching one of Caroline’s videos for decor advice (we are decorating our hall and stairs at the mo) but once I found her I was hooked. I have watched loads of her stuff. She is funny, sassy and also very open and human, a good combo.

My girl, Pie, age 16 introduced me to Italian Batch. We watch him together and laugh our daft heads off. I particularly love his videos where he unpicks millionaires/ CEO’s crazy morning routines.

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What I bought recently:

This La Redoute demin gilet to keep me warm in my studio this winter. It fits over my woolly jumpers and is really cosy, I love it! I have never bought anything from La Redoute before and wondered if the quality would be a bit rubbish, but it is very nicely made: proper denim with a lovely cotton bias binding. I love it.

A vintage wooden pearl inlay box I found on Vinted - to keep all my bedside bits and bobs in (hair clips, coins, tiny treasures, random bedtime jottings).

By the way, for about a year now I have been making drawings of everything in my wardrobe in an effort to buy less stuff. A bit like those wardrobe apps, but for illustrators who prefer to draw. Honestly, it has been a revelation! I am spending far less money and loving the clothes I have. Would you like to hear more about that?

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The Good ship podcast

In case you missed it there are four new episodes of the Good Ship Podcast. I haven’t listened to them obviously (own voice fear) but I was there when we recorded them 😂 and they are excellent ramblings about the business of illustration. That sounds so dry, how can I word it better? How to do the things that help you make money as an illustrator 🤑

Here are some lovely things people have said about the podcast.

p.s. Got a question for the Good Ship Illustration podcast? You can send your questions to goodshipillo@gmail.com and title it 'message in a bottle' so we know what it's about.

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Telly Viewing we’ve been binging as a family (with Pie age 16):

Couples Therapy: Real lives, real therapy. Dr Orna Guralnik welcomes couples wanting to save their relationships. Follow the emotional struggles and successes in riveting, raw reality. I have been addicted to this series for years but rarely find anyone who has watched it. Watch it! It is actual therapy sessions between couples who are struggling to communicate. Having had years of therapy myself I find this sort of stuff fascinating.

Kaos: The ancient gods are up to new tricks in this modern retelling of Greek mythology that The Sunday Times hails as "engrossing, imaginative and fun."

Ludvig: Puzzle setter John 'Ludwig' Taylor's life is upended when his identical twin, DCI James Taylor, disappears. John reluctantly assumes his identity in order to track him down. If you like the cosy murder genre, this is for you. (

Marloes De Vries

I am talking to YOU.) It’s A mix of Morse, BBC’s Sherlock and Death in Paradise.

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News from my kitchen table

Katie Chappell

and I are writing some books together about a wee dog called Salty. He lives with his pals in an upturned boat, and fellow Good Ship captain Tania Willis, is the inspiration behind our favourite character: Kitty. Walker Books signed us up and we are SOOOO thrilled. I’ll tell you more very soon.

Salty Dog stories, due to be published by our pals at Walker Books.

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SCBWI Conference

I am so excited because Joseph Coelho and I are the keynote speakers at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference this year 🤩🤩🤩. I haven’t met Joseph in real life yet, but I illustrated one of his Ten Word Tiny Tales recently and can’t wait to chat about that, here’s a piece I wrote about that collaboration.

Children’s book creators at all levels will find unique opportunities to meet and network with industry professionals and fellow creatives at our vibrant in-person event in central London.

Me and Joseph Coelho

We are also running workshops, Joseph’s is on writing, and mine on character development. It’ll be so much fun to meet you if you can make it!

For all Good Ship students, from any of our courses, SCBWI gave me a discount code to share with you: studentcon24

My illustration for Joseph Coelho’s Ten Word Tiny Tales: ‘Invite me in,’ she says outside my tenth storey window.

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Gerry’s Whale Prints

This weekend my partner, Gerry Turley, is having an online private view of his beautiful whale prints, doors open on Thursday. He stopped printing in lockdown, so we decided to set up a studio at home. For a little while his shiny new cabin gave him performance anxiety (eek) but now he is in there every day making a good creative mess and at last his first prints are ready! He has a waiting list of people eager to snap one up, so you’ll have to be quick if you want a whale on your wall!

By the way, he started a Substack here:

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Ok I have questions:

• Come on, spill the beans, what are your favourite YouTubers and TV binges at the moment. Arty or trashy, I am not fussy.

• Have you listened to a Good Ship podcast yet? What is your favourite episode? Please don’t listen to ‘Helen Stephens Sausage Face’ 🫣.

• Will I get to meet you in real life at the SCBWI conference?

• Would you like to hear more about drawing my wardrobe in an effort to buy less?

Love Helenx