Studio Update: A First Draft, A Big Dream, and the Road Ahead

Over the weekend, I finished the first draft of my very first children’s book – a story I’ve been co-creating with a friend. It feels like a quiet but mighty moment.

Writing and illustrating stories for children has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. But if I’m honest, when we first started this collaboration, I felt a little overwhelmed. Could I really do it justice? Could I climb this creative mountain I'd imagined for so long? There’s something uniquely vulnerable about working with a friend – you care so much about the outcome, and there's this added layer of pressure to not let each other down.

But now, standing on the other side of that first draft, I feel proud. I’m learning that working with someone else can actually take the pressure off in unexpected ways. It’s helped me find flow again, and reminded me that I don’t have to figure it all out alone.

I’ve got a whole library of story ideas tucked away – some sketched, some scribbled in journals, and others that I’ve only dared to whisper out loud. And now that this first one is coming to life, I can feel the creative momentum building.

This process is helping me step into my most authentic creative self – the one who’s curious, storytelling, and dreaming out loud again. I'm excited to travel further down this path and share more of the journey with you.

Oh, and in case you missed it – I posted a new article over on Substack this weekend called Why I Sketch the Places That Matter. It was such a joy to write, and I loved the experience of publishing on that platform. I’ll definitely be sharing more there soon, too.

Thanks, as always, for being here.

Leanne x