Helen Friel is one of LKP Children’s favourite creative artists – whether it is making magical, mysterious adventures with the ingenious, immersive and very puzzling Hoakes Island, or motivating creative storytelling with her shadow-play-spooky Midnight Creatures – and the brand-new Midnight Monsters, her work in illustration and paper engineering is always sure to inspire.

We’re welcoming Helen to the blog today to share a little on her workspace…

Helen says of her working routine:

“I work at home (and sometimes when I just need my computer, in coffee shops). It looks out on the road but the other side is just trees.

 I've just moved out of London so this is still quite a new space. I love being able to walk to the countryside from my studio and I often take walks.”

On a day when I’m making work for a client I have three favourite tools. The first is a brass ruler made by Tom Dixon. It’s a really pretty colour.

A retractable Swann-Morton knife. It’s great for taking to photoshoots and putting in my pocket without accidentally cutting myself!

A glue syringe. I fill this up with UHU glue and I ‘draw’ with the glue. It’s accurate and makes my job much faster.

Take a look at more of Helen’s amazing work here.