Recap - August 2024

Window paintings, pompoms and an epiphany

A few years ago, my friend said to me that I seemed to have figured it out. She meant “life”. I was bemused by the comment because she couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, I had managed to get on the property ladder and, albeit still part-time, I had managed to make a career out of what I love. But, there were so many unchecked boxes in my life, you know the boxes adults are supposed to be ticking off - finding a partner, getting married, buying a house and a car, having kids etc etc. At the age of 41, I don’t have any of these things except my flat, career and cat. I know I don’t have to tick off these boxes to have a fulfilling life. But I sometimes feel like my life is hopelessly “off the track” and I can’t help imagining how comforting to walk on the well-traveled road. But this month I had a sort of epiphany. Sort of… But let’s start with a few updates.

The Children’s Publishing Picnic (aka Kidlit Picnic)

Another year. Another Steve Lenton’s famous kidlit picnic. As always, it was a great occasion to catch up with old friends and making new ones and meeting people from all corners of children’s book publishing. This year, Steve introduced a lucky-dip book swap (what a brilliant idea!). I picked a lovely Maisie Jones and the Dinosaur Bones by Lily Murray and Jenny Løvlie (Pan Macmillan).

Bye bye, dinosaur. Hello, aliens.

Throughout this month I was ping-ponging with my publisher over the cover of the dinosaur book I had been working on since February. Cover is the most tricky part of picture book making because this is where the sales team has the biggest say. I’ll talk about this in the future but for now I just say it’s done.

I also started working on the next book. This will be my first US book. So far so good. I sent them some character sketches and a full colour sample spread, and they basically just gave me a big thumbs up. I found it too good to be true (I really need to work on my pessimistic personality). But, according to those who have worked with US publishers, they tend to be very direct and never beat around the bush. So I’m taking the compliment at the face value (for now).

Character sketches and colour palette planning for the new project.

Pearl & Her Bunch promotion

To celebrate and promote the paperback publication of my latest book, Pearl and Her Bunch (Orchard Books), I had a busy month preparing for and doing widow paintings and bookshop events.

I was invited to paint windows of lovely independent bookshop, Kew Bookshop, and its youngest sister Hewson Books Brentford (opened this June). Whether window painting is worth doing is always up for debate, but for me personally it is.

When I was a child, I loved confined spaces like wardrobe and oshiire (a traditional Japanese closet for futon mattresses and duvets). I’m quite happy to be in the tight space between windows and shelves for hours. Shop stuff pop their heads in for the occasional chit-chat but they mostly leave me to my own devices. I enjoy the calm atmosphere of bookshops and random conversations between stuff and customers while I quietly paint away. It’s a bit like I’m hiding in a secret chamber, just like I was a child.

Hewson Books Brentford window

There are many way to make window painting / dressing easier or quicker. For example, you could print and cut out images in advance and just stick them on the window on the day. But for me the best part of the window painting is the act of painting. How often do you get to paint a big canvas like shop windows? Yes, it’s time-consuming. The Brentford window took me about three hours and the Kew windows took about five hours and if you add travel times, your day is easily gone. But window painting gets me into a flow and the end result is so satisfying. What not to love?!

Kew Bookshop windows

For the Kew Bookshop windows, I made some pompom garlands by hand. I made them while watching cooking competition or true crime shows in the evening on and off over the course of two weeks. The last time I made pompoms must have been over 30 years ago or so. Making them turned out to be trickier than I remembered and my pompoms were clumsy. It was definitely time-consuming and not cost-effective but I enjoyed the process. I found making pompoms therapeutic and I was happy with how they looked in the windows.

If you’re interested in more practical side of window painting, read my previous window painting posts for tips here and here.

Then, I did storytime and craft activity events at children’s bookshops - the Book Nook in Hove and the Alligator’s Mouth in Richmond, London. My biggest worry for this kind of event is What if no one comes?? But to my genuine surprise, around ten children plus their parents came to each event. (Thank you!) Storytime still makes me nervous because you never know if the audience sitting right in front of you would enjoy your story or not. So it was lovely to hear oohs and ahhs and laughs from the audience while I read Pearl.

We made fruit & veg family portraits. I asked the children to imagine themselves and their families as fruits and vegetables. This activity always works a treat. It’s simple so children don't really need instructions and parents are often happy to get involved. Watching families having fun and enjoying my books always brings me enormous joy and it’s really rewarding.

Creative family portraits.

When I was making pompoms in front of TV in the evening, I wondered if I was an epitome of sad, middle-aged women. But, on the way home after those window paintings and events, I felt happy. I felt I was exactly where I should be in my life. It was so clear like a blue sky after long, gloomy days. It was an epiphany so to speak. I didn’t care the unchecked boxes. I know this feeling is fleeting. My blue days will come back now and then for sure, but for now I feel less “off the track”.

My life now is far from what I imagined 10 years ago. But that’s life, isn’t it? It never turns out how you plan it. So I’m learning to embrace it as it is and just enjoy it as it comes. Maybe I should go on dates on my days off instead of painting windows and making pompoms, but I probably chose pompoms and true crime shows…

Be normal!

Talking of being different, I was invited to a launch party for wonderful Ged Adamson’s new book - Be Normal! (Nosy Crow) earlier this month. It’s about a dog called Geoff Thorndike (what a name!) who doesn’t do any normal doggy things. The message is “Why be normal when you can be yourself?”. I’m a big fan of Ged’s whimsical illustrations, but what I love about this book is the humour. I’m so in love with Geoff who talks like an old gentleman (“Mmmmm, that [smoothie] hit the spot”).

LAIKA: Frame x Frame exhibition

BFI is currently doing a stop motion animation season and a free exhibition to take you to the world of the LAIKA films. It’s free but the production is AMAZING! The exhibition features more than 700 artifacts including the physical puppets, intricately crafted sets, costumes and props behind films including Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Strings and more and you can get to see them up close! Open till 1 October. Don’t miss it!

That’s it for this month. Thank you for reading!

Momoko x