What's Cheering Me Up Lately
A special edition for what's sparking joy in March 2023
This is a new possible series I thought I might try for the Substack. It’s inspired by a favourite YouTuber, Hannah Louise Poston, who does this as a series on her channel. She talks about the things that have been cheering her up that month, but not physical things you have to go purchase—activities, habits, or experiences/findings that have brought joy. Books or TV shows that have been enjoyable, that kind of thing.
I thought it might be fun to do as a series here because honestly, the world is a bit grim routinely, and sometimes we all need a bit of a spark of joy from somewhere, and I thought I’d share what brightened my days a bit this last month.
I’d love to know what’s brought joy to your month this last month!
ART + WHIMSY
David Bird’s “Becorn” art; creating little people and whole worlds through the photography.
I just adore the compositions and little worlds David Bird creates. The images have so much beauty and whimsy in them. I really love fae compositions and these little acorn peoples are just simply adorable and spark so much joy. I love the compositions with little creatures like birds or squirrels. They remind me to think outside of the box and be inspired from the world around me.
This one has so much joy in it—what a cute use of lighting. There’s so many more whimsical and enchanting photos on his Instagram and his Youtube also has BTS videos talking about how he planned the shots and implemented through trial and error to get just the right one! An absolute joy.
PERSONAL
My partner starting his first creative fiction project and publishing it online.
My partner has launched his first large-scale creative project himself–a Deckbuilding LitRPG fantasy novel called Shuffle of Fate! He’s already got over 30,000 words written and is currently publishing it in a serialized platform. His write-up of the plot:
Jack is an archetypal son of Calamut—a city undergoing a technical and social revolution. Ambitious and intelligent, he embraces the progress the city has made and the wonders the future seems to hold. His own prospects rely on the quality of his first carding—the moment when otherworldly forces manifest in him abilities of profound power.
In a world routinely ravaged by apocalyptic upheaval, where change is treated as a threat, how will those who wish to buck inevitability respond?
If you’re into kind of fantasy-esque settings with a world where characters have certain abilities based on a “deck of cards” that they “hold” (mental not literal cards), or think it sounds interesting check it out! I’m super proud of him and am enjoying the story so much myself, there’s a lot of really interesting world-building, good action and interesting characters.
GAMES
Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia
This is a game I picked up on my Switch for $3 on sale. It’s for kids, I think, but that doesn’t matter to me—it’s a lovely relaxing little game with stunning visuals and design. You wander around as a wee little mouse with a magnifying glass and can interact with the creatures, plants, and environment.
Each plant or animal has a custom animation and shows you a little informative encyclopedia entry that identifies the species and tells you a little about it. I love it!!!
There are so many little hand-drawn details, the facts about each species is interesting and informative, even for adults, and the little animations on each species you interact with is just adorable. It’s given me a lot of inspiration and even though the game isn’t very long, I am really happy to spend time in it and find it quite inspiring.
PERSONAL
Starting my own personal project: A Substack about nature journalling, art, and citizen science.
the strandline: a section of the beach where the high tide reaches, often where things of wonder and of curiosity are found.
In a similar way to my husband, I decided for the first time since starting Little Fox, to start a new personal project: a personal Substack. This is my latest endeavour of working through my burnout; I created a space only for things I personally care about. It’s part journal, part me learning to draw/paint through nature journaling, part me geeking about birds I see and marine biology and nudibranchs.
A dyscalculic millennial’s exploration into citizen science, marine biology, nature journalling, art and fighting imposter syndrome at learning biology with a humanities background. This is my project to reconnect with my childhood love of nature, to take time and make space for myself to enjoy what I’ve always loved.
I’m super excited about the project, it’s been an absolute joy to write so far, I hope to write on it at least once a week with a goal of twice. No pressure to follow me there, only if you’re interested in that kind of thing or interested in supporting/following me personally! It’s definitely different from this space: I won’t be talking about design or anything like that there. It won’t really be a journal about my day-to-day but just about the various hobbies and interests I’m passionate about other than design! My goal with it is to have this external place I can post my progress in learning/drawing and keep myself accountable and be able to “justify” making more time for art and personal loves. I always find myself prioritizing client work no matter how small over this other creative work, and I want to be able to work on changing that mindset through sharing my explorations publicly!
READING
Reading ‘Witch Hat Atelier’ Manga
One of the manga I’ve been reading recently is Witch Hat Atelier, a lovely little story about a girl who wants to learn magic and become a witch, but only those who are born with magic can practice it. Or can they? Due to some extenuating circumstances of which I shall not spoil, she’s taken on as an apprentice by an older Witch who agrees to teach her what he knows of magic. There’s a burgeoning sinister plot, engaging characters and beautiful art. There is so much whimsy and creativity in the art, setting, and creatures of the world, and each character is relatable in a unique way, struggling with meaningful internal conflicts, like being able to be true to themselves, or become less shy and more confident. I highly recommend checking it out, even if you’ve never read Japanese manga before. The only thing you need to know is to read the text right to left instead of left to right! :)
Thanks for reading this fun little issue about what’s been cheering me up! What have been some of the highlights of your past month? Let me know! I’m also launching a chat thread where we can collectively share some of the things that have been cheering us up so we can maybe help collectively cheer each other up - you can even post photos in it in reply!
It says “exclusive to the app” but they just launched chat functionality for desktop, so it’s available for all :)
I normally write about design, art, sustainability, colours, and other more generally design related topics! Consider subscribing! Tune in next week for a post on algae ink!
1. The acorn people are TOO f'n cute
2. YAY to boo thang publishing!!
3. I been looking for cutesy games. I got this love island one but that was ehhh. One where you try to make it as a budding manga artist. There's little English so I get stuck sometimes lol The art style of the mouse game feels so comforting! Gonna peep it