Personal Portfolio

Two years in command

My husband, Andrew, recently concluded his exceptional two-year command of the Hobart Class Destroyer, HMAS Sydney (V). His tenure was marked by an extraordinary blend of professional achievements and deeply personal fulfilment.

In the lead up to his handover of command, we made the decision to present unique tokens of appreciation to the ship's company. These included some artwork for each of the messes and personal gifts that conveyed our gratitude. I had already designed a distinct and heartfelt presentation for Andrew—a vintage travel-style poster featuring HMAS Sydney highlighting the ships’ journey and ports visited during his charge. This classic design was then carefully customised to reflect the intimate details of the ship itself and was presented to the ship's company during Andrew's command handover ceremony.

As a gesture of our attachment to the ship and her namesake, we chose locally sourced spiced rum from a distillery in Sydney, paying tribute to the traditional sailor's libation.

The rum was christened 'Dual Salvo' by Andrew in recognition of its formidable combat potential, and a heartfelt note of gratitude adorned the back label.

This modest yet deeply sentimental gesture reflected our immense appreciation for the incredible journey we shared.

HMAS Sydney Commissioning Poster - presentation to the Executive Officer

25 Years in the Navy

My husband, Andrew, recently celebrated his 25th year of service in the Royal Australian Navy. During this time he has worked on many ships, been on multiple deployments, and has been fortunate to have held two exchange positions - with the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Navy.

To commemorate this outstanding milestone I wanted to create something to connect the span of his career and the successes he's achieved on the many ships and shore establishments he's been posted to. Each RAN ship and shore establishment has their own 'tally band' - the black ribbon with gold embroidery tied around the caps belonging to the ship's company. I was able to procure a tally band from almost every ship, patrol boat and shore establishment Andrew had served on, even his most recent, and first, Command - the RAN Recruit School.

Together with the tally bands, I designed multiple sized cushions that would, again, provide practicality in our home with a visual representation of significant memories.

HMAS Sydney features twice - Andrew served onboard her earlier in his career and will go on to captain the new destroyer HMAS Sydney (V) mid-2021.

Roadtrip USA

I love exploring different mediums, not just professionally but personally as well. To commemorate our amazing 2014 road trip across the United States, I wanted to create a unique piece of furniture that combined everyday practicality but also displayed my collection of retro postcards of iconic places we'd been during the trip.

I designed a coffee table to hold the postcards and had it specially made for my husband and I to enjoy, every day in our lounge room. Made from Tasmanian Oak, it's a wonderful talking point with so many terrific memories.