Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1534780
How did you start knitting food? I was actually making fashion accessories when I decided to knit a full English breakfast and people loved it so much. I found I was good at making things look realistic. In essence, I wanted to stand out and grab people's attention, and it has ended up taking me down a whole new and exciting career path. What is your biggest creation? I knitted an entire fish counter from scratch once—it was massive. I had the idea in my head and visited lots of different fish markets all over the world. I went to markets in Tokyo, in Copenhagen and Billingsgate in London to get inspiration. It was an interactive exhibition so I was dressed as a fishmonger, and people could come to buy a piece from the fish counter, which we would then frame on a plate. I made lobster, mussels, cockles, salmon, flat fish, plaice, kippers—everything you would usually see. It looked so real that people were really doing a double take. At the other end of the scale, tins of sardines are popular, and sushi, too. I have made lots of Scandinavian open sandwiches featuring lots of prawns. It takes about an hour to knit a prawn or a sardine, and then I embellish them with sequins and beads. How did your partnership with Viking come about? e company got in touch with me after seeing my work in a gallery on Charlotte Street in London. It took a year or two to get the go-ahead, but my work is now featured on their ships. I love that my work is floating around the world and that people are eating their breakfast looking at crocheted versions of their food. So many people commission me after seeing my work on board, so it has been a really interesting collaboration. One Viking customer from New York commissioned me to make a crocheted, hand-embroidered mahjong set of playing tiles for his wife for Valentine's Day. I had never done them before, but I loved it. You love to travel, but how do your trips inspire your work? I am always looking for places to source sequins—India is amazing for that. I cannot even begin to guess how many different sequins I have used. I have a huge range of metallic, opalescent and iridescent sequins for fish scales. And so much yarn as well. Japan is best for beads—the caviar I create for my canapés is made from black beads from Japan, and I also have the perfect beads to make a pinky-red fish roe. What kind of food inspires you most? I am vegetarian but I have not stopped making fish. I am obsessed with vegetables and cheese; I cannot stop thinking about how to make feta look interesting. It probably needs a Greek salad. How did you learn to knit so well? My mum and my grandmother were always knitting and making things for me and my sister when I was growing up. We lived in the Rhymney Valley in South Wales and were always encouraged to make things, even as children. 28 VIKING