Inspired

In the first week of my first proper job, as a junior 3D designer at the British Museum, I was encouraged by my boss, Margaret Hall, to wander around the museum snapping objects that inspired me. The wonderful Assyrian wall sculptures entranced me, and they still do (I often pop in to gaze at them).

I met many famous photographers during my time at the Science Museum’s outpost in Bradford. I was fascinated by their powers of composition: the ability to frame scenes in a way that the wandering eye will often miss. Inspirational photographs made me look and design in a new way, considering vistas and juxtaposition.

Jorge Blanco – cartoonist, sculptor, designer – created a totally inspirational children’s museum in Caracas, the Museo de los Niños. I visited and was shown around by Jorge, after which we shared several bottles of wine, even though he hardly spoke English and I didn’t speak a word of Spanish. That meeting was the single biggest influence on the creation of Eureka! the Museum for Children in Halifax.

Whenever I need inspiration, I jump on my BSA Goldie (an old British motorbike) and whizz over the moorland roads of West Yorkshire to clear my head.