When my brain is in overdrive, I need to MAKE.

I live too much in my head, caught in ideas that go all over the place. That’s why I let my hands think.

MAKING clears the clutter.

Since my thoughts move in many directions, so does my work. But there is one constant: a desire to honour the beauty and power of letters.

My manifesto. Quote by Edward Johnston.

__‘50 Words’ by KHOP

I gave form to KHOP’s short stories through my favourite, steady, versatile italic script.

__Letters

The solitude during COVID made me start writing letters to friends and strangers. I noticed how close people felt, even if they were on the other side of the world.

Handwriting slowed my thoughts, and while writing I began to notice small sounds around me, like a ticking clock or a distant barking dog.

I followed two rules: never check if a letter arrived, and never rewrite it. Just one take, with mistakes crossed out and left as part of the letter.

__Embroidery

My birth sign, made by my grandmother, started it all: the moment I noticed that distinctive swirl in the ‘A’.

It led to a period of experiment. Input? Historical embroidery letterforms that feel surprisingly modern to me.

Experiments with the embroidery machine:

__Visible words

Letting words find their form: using varied tools and techniques to draw out their meaning.