Do not disturb: Notes from my studio

Journal entry 16 June 2025

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I’ve been keeping a messy logbook to chronicle this journey of setting out on a new work path (and life!). It’s strange how day-to-day, change feels so subtle—sometimes I think I’m stuck, making no progress at all. I am juggling too much, and progress feels sluggish—never as swift as I’d hope. Yet, this journal has become my best tool for tracking growth, even when it’s slow and hard-won. 

The urge to journal resurfaced during a holiday in Western Australia’s south—it’s the kind of place that sparks reflection. It began in Dunsborough, over a soy latte, with René Redzepi’s journal on the coffee table, sparking a quiet conversation of sorts. I was hooked: the book is a vivid account of life at Noma, his world-famous restaurant. It’s not just about food; it’s the grit, creativity, and relentless drive to innovate that I find so compelling. His practical approach to business, mixed with a big dose of madness, lays bare the determination and camaraderie it takes to thrive in a high-stakes world. 

At the same time, I was immersed in Nigel Slater’s A Thousand Feasts, a memoir of sorts that feels like a prose-poem. His writing, drawn from decades of notebooks scribbled in places like his London kitchen, a Reykjavik fisherman’s hut, or a Vienna café during a blizzard, is so visual it pulls me into far-off streets and imagined flavors. It’s a meditation on finding joy in the everyday—food, travel, gardening, life’s small pleasures. I’m captivated, and a little jealous of his effortless style, dreaming of one day creating something as evocative. 

But, reading these two journals side by side has fueled my own writing, showing me how to find meaning in the mundane and measure progress through persistence. It helps to bleed out negativity when art feels like a hard career choice, but also helps me dig deeper into the emotional roots of creative blocks. I will share more pages here, so stay tuned ...

References

Redzepi, Rene. 2019. A Work in Progress: a Journal. London. Phaidon Press.

Slater, Nigel. 2024. A thousand feasts Small moments of joy, a memoir of sorts. New York. Harper Element.