About six months ago I contacted artist and designer Gabrielle Reith-Thompson. I have long been admiring her work - from her colourful paintings/collages to her more recent illustrative pieces. Her Small Stories products are sold in small boutiques throughout Britain and online. I just adore her quirky eye, the attention to detail and, of course, the tiny stories that you glimpse in her work. I hoped Gabi would be interested in creating a logo for me. We would be a good fit, I thought:  the strong emphasis upon geometry found within organic shapes, the obvious Scandinavian influences, and our shared passion for handmade objects. Gabi was happy to help and, thanks to modern technology, we had some lovely exchanges about design heritage and personal influences.

And Gabi came up with this.

I had told Gabi about how I grew up listening to stories about the Norse pantheon. I may be not be a particularly religious person, but the stories continue to resonate with me. I was rather floored when I saw this image.

Gabi had drawn something which not only references my Scandinavian heritage*, but also evokes my approach to knitting designs and speaks of my love of freedom, nature and simplicity.

I absolutely love it.

(You can followed Gabi Reith-Thompson on Twitter or Facebook. She is on Folksy and has a fabulous Pinterest account too)

*)In Norse mythology ravens were generally regarded as messengers, though the god Odin had two ravens on his shoulders - Hugin and Mugin - which represented memory and thought.