Meet our talented Curious Crew member Alice Simpson who works in our Bruntsfield shop and has a great gift for drawing hilarious scenes that often involve croissants and wild beasts. We asked Alice to share some thoughts on the Festival, her art and her favourite products.
1. What do you enjoy most during the Edinburgh festival?
Meeting friendly people who are seeing the city with fresh eyes. Circus shows that don't involve audience interaction. The abundance of artisanal pudding vans everywhere. Living far enough away from it that it doesn't keep me awake at night.
2. What’s your favourite refuge?
Coffee shops where I'm around people but allowed my own bubble of space. I particularly enjoy getting to Bruntsfield early enough that I can enjoy a latte and an almond croissant in the window of Artisan Roast. It's my little moment of winding up before the social business of meeting customers in the shop commences.
3. Three products from our shelves that you love
Edible. The Creightons chocolate. Any of it, even the stuff that seems a bit left-field (ramen for example) actually tastes amazing. Plus the packaging on everything, particularly the new stuff, is delicious on it's own.
Readable. 'All That Remains' by Dame Sue Black. It's the most life-affirming book about death you could read. Maybe it's not for everyone but it's worth chancing a change of theme on, as she somehow manages to approach the subject both with a great warmth and with matter-of-factness. Best book I read last year, possibly best non-fiction book I've read ever, a great one for making you sit up, forget your anxiety and think of the bigger picture.
View-able. I love Susie Wright's linework so so much, particularly in some of her monochrome screenprints. She manages to capture that slightly uneven sharpness that Edinburgh architecture has in spades, with lots of edges and shadows. Angular yet inviting pictures of a city I love.
4. Can you recommend any local businesses?
Artisan probably because I've tried every iteration of almond croissant they've provided. The coffee is obviously excellent too, although I feel bad for being extremely unadventurous when it comes to coffee. They indulge me anyway.
Also the Edinburgh Bookshop around Holy Corner - I don't get to go there as much as I'd want but they are lovely people with an excellent selection in stock.
5. Show us examples of your beautiful work
I'm working on making my drawings more accessible in that they will one day maybe be for sale and not stuck in my 8"x 8" sketchbook. I do a lot of small drawings, I try and make some of them funny and I usually put them on Instagram but I'm working towards making them a tangible reality. So now I've told you maybe that'll happen.
You can follow Alice on Instagram here @alicethebee. We hope to see her cards arriving in our Edinburgh shops sometime soon.