Small Shop Directory : Home

Ceramics

Marigold and Lettuce create beautiful chunky white china. I love the way you can see the potters’ thumbprints in each piece. Best of all you can throw everything in the dishwasher which is a massive win in my book.

Florence Mytum. If you are a fan of wobbly china you will love Florence Mytum’s mugs and candle holders. I have the gorgeous wiggle mugs in the studio, they are robust and everyone admires them. Florence is a ceramic artist based in East London.

EOT Ceramics are all handmade in Cornwall. Emily’s designs are perfect someone who favors a paired back Scandinavian aesthetic. We particularly love the dimple mugs. Keep a look out for EOT’s winter collection launching on 13th November

Textiles

In Casa by Paboy : Paboy crafts the most beautiful cushions, towels and other accessories from vibrant cottons expertly patch-worked together. Each piece is a work of art. Paboy has the most astonishing and inspiring story and this is definitely a fantastic small business to support this Christmas.

Sunday and Story : Alongside sourcing amazing rugs from around the world, Josephine has a lovely selection of smaller pieces such as wool pouffes, pretty jute placemats and Kilm Cushions.

Poppy and Honesty : From pouches to huge scalloped edged quilts, we have a gift for almost everyone. All of our textiles are handmade from start to finish in Cornwall from Liberty fabrics, our exclusive linens and velvets. Please check our lead times for bedding sets and quilts.

Cards and Art Prints

Mimi Dickson : Mimi is the queen of beautiful tiny illustrations featuring little nostalgic joys such as Penguin Classics and jars of Marmite. Mimi makes beautiful cards and personally I would rather send x5 of her special creations that x50 generic Christmas cards from Tescos.

Charlotte Farmer : Bold coloured screenprints and wild designs (some even glow in the dark). These prints would be the perfect gift for someone with a sense of humour and a colourful home.

Rosie Harbottle : Gentle watercolour and pastel prints of still life compositions and more stylised images. Based in Dartmoor, Rosie’s beautiful paintings and prints are so pretty and nostalgic.

Other lovely things

The Appreciation Project : Natasha stocks the most beautiful selection of dried flowers which will look lovely and delicate on your mantlepiece even when the fire’s roaring and the heating’s wacked up. The Appreciation Project also sources the most exquisite marble vases.

Folie Chambre : Alongside beautiful bobbin mirrors and lamps, Natalie also makes candle holders and christmas decorations. Folie Chambre is known for amazing British craftsmanship as beautiful antique treasures.

I totally understand that shopping exclusively from small brands is not budget friendly for most families, however I hope that there is a small way you can support little independent businesses this Christmas. Please add your favourite small brands to the comments below, we’d love to know where you find your treasures.

Sophie xxx

Shop Early and Shop Small

According to everywhere, Christmas is on. As someone who won’t put up the tree until mid December and is likely to punch a box of mince pies if Maria Carey sings in the supermarket before next month, the prospect of Christmas shopping seems very premature. However if you are planning to support small independent brands it is important to get ahead with gathering your Christmas haul.

Small shops like Poppy and Honesty don’t have the capacity to stock all of their products as many of these are handmade to order. We offer such a huge range of sizes, that we ask our customers to allow 2-3 weeks for bedding sets and quilts to be handmade. Other small retailers will need longer lead times as they will possibly need to source materials to make your beautiful orders

The joy of shopping from small businesses is that there is no big guy in a shiny office taking a handsome cut from profits. Therefore your hard earned cash is more likely to be reflected in the quality of the product and will find its way more easily into the pockets of makers and small business owners. Think of it this way, your Christmas pounds could be paying for someone’s ballet lessons, school holiday, electric bill or even turkey!

I am absolutely no expert in economics but including shopping from small brands when you are gathering your Christmas loot seems like a pretty good idea. Over the next few weeks, I will be creating some mini directories of my favourite small businesses. If you have any suggestions, it would be lovely if you could add them to the comments below.

Happy November

Sophie

Quilt in Liberty Fabric ‘Ciara’

Duvet Cover in Liberty fabric ‘Poppy Forest’

The Small Joys of Autumn

Let’s be honest, Autumn and Winter can be grim : the longest term ever for the kids under low grey skies and the assault of Halloween and Christmas marketing in parallel with a cost of living crisis. However, all is not lost, I have been in cahoots with my family and friends and we have come up with a list of the tiniest things that may bring you a little touch of joy this time of year.

I find that short days provide the ultimate excuse to be lazy, there is no laundry to bring in and it’s too dark to possibly go out. Autumn really is the perfect time to snuggle up with your books, films and listen to music as soon as the sun goes down. I have put a few ideas below and hope that I have included some small joys that are accessible to all.

1. Sunrise at an acceptable hour.

2. Hedgehogs. Help them to hibernate successfully, build a hog house or maybe even get a camera !

3. Eating bowls of custard with or without crumble (Birds is fine)

4. Candle light, firelight and fairy lights.

5. Sparklers (fireworks too scary for dogs)

6. The lingering smell of bonfires.

7. Hanging up food for birds. Recipe for Fat Balls here

8. Sunday roast at home or in a pub after a long walk

9. Bright orange tangerines in the shops

10. Soup … think of all those poor disgarded Halloween pumpkins. Recipe here (I love mine with ginger and toasted pumpkin seeds.

11. Plant as many spring bulbs as possible (dig them deep into the soil- it will be worth it..)

12. Corduroy

Once you put your mind to it, I am sure that you will find other pleasures suited to this time of year. Please add them to the comments below for everyone to enjoy.

I will leave you with this beautiful quote that we can all aspire to, although in my opinion it is perfectly acceptable to moan and bitch throughout the whole season.

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger – something better, pushing right back.

Albert Camus

Sophie xx

Linen tablecloth and napkins in Florence.

Introducing 'Florence'

Finally our beautiful linen is here; just in time for the cosy season. There have been many hurdles launching our new starlet out into the world, but we think she’s an absolute corker. ‘Florence’ is a 100% Oeko Tex Certified Linen and features a gorgeous pinstripe in terracotta, olive green and soft white. We think she looks soft and cosy alongside our resident linen ‘Rose Gingham’ and feels wonderfully romantic with our Liberty fabrics ‘Poppy Forest Rust’, ‘Wiltshire’ and ‘Capel’. I am sure that our creative customers will come up with some fabulous bedding and table linen combinations.

We named our fabric ‘Florence’, as it reminded us of the pyjamas worn by Grandfathers and bygone war time heroes. Thus we made the very tenuous link to Florence Nightingale and it also happens to my middle name! Bringing the collection together at the last minute due to an oil spill in transit (****) was an herculean effort and we couldn’t have made it all work without my tribe of warrior women (Kate May, Rhona McDade and Fliss Lincoln) as well as ‘got it in one shot, Rob Herron’.

Ruffle Edge Table Cloth in ‘Florence”

Alongside our bedding range we have also created a table linen collection showcasing our beautiful new ‘Florence’. Not only does this fabric look gorgeous but it is also incredibly absorbent and durable. I am very much of the mind set that things should not be kept for best. Laying the table beautifully for your chippy tea and lighting a candle will simply make you feel better about the long Autumn evenings. Greasy fingers on linen are no problem, as you can hurl your tablecloths and napkins into the washing machine and ironing is entirely optional. We recommend combining the Florence Table linen with napkins in Rose Gingham; these are available with or without crochet edging.

Large Linen Tablecloth in Florence

Finally, it is definitely worth mentioning that as well as being a mega babe, our linen in ‘Florence’ has eco- friendly credentials. As the flax for our linens is grown in the fertile soils of Northern Europe, it requires very little water and virtually no fertilizers or pesticides. Every part of the flax plant is used for making linen as well as linseed oil, food for livestock and soap. Our linen requires very little dye for colouring and is completely biodegradable. What’s not to love about Florence?

Sophie xx

Location : The Harbour House Flushing

Photography : Good Rest Studios

Styling : Otti Styling

Taking a walk on the wild side with House of Hackney

We are so excited to be working with House of Hackney who are launching part two of The Market Garden: their marketplace bringing together a collective of craftspeople inspired by a joint muse; Mother Nature. 

From handcrafted ceramics and original artworks to decor accessories and textiles, House of Hackney carefully curated The Market Garden to bring the beauty of Nature into your home.

I first visited the House of Hackney Flagship store ‘St Michaels’ back in February 2023 and although I was not greeted by a tiger or cobra, I was absolutely blown away by their incredible use of colour and pattern. I think I might of counted at least 5 paint colours and 8 patterns blending together perfectly in one of their exquisite rooms. Needless to say we were thrilled to be invited to join The Market Garden.

Our first project in May, was to work on a stunning tablecloth, handmade from House of Hackney’s ‘Floribunda’ fabric. Our head seamstress Kate literally squealed when she clapped her eyes on the pattern which is brimming with meadow flowers.

POPPY AND HONESTY Floribunda Magna Table Cloth

This season, House of Hackney enters the dark side of the Garden; the Gothic Garden. Featuring a carefully curated collection of artworks and homewares. We were delighted to be asked to contribute some beautiful linen bedding to the collection. The classic green and white stripe duvet and pillowcases contrasts beautifully with the patchwork throws and bespoke made headboards crafted in Devon.

Photo Credit Rosie Woolman

Photo Credit Rosie Woolman

We are so grateful to House of Hackney B Corp for generously extending their platform to make opportunites to craftspeople like Poppy and Honesty and hope that you enjoy looking at their stunning curation in The Market Garden.

Sophie x

Bows to bring joy

We have been busy hand crafting huge bows in the studio to be launched on October 8th. Each is carefully handmade from either Liberty fabric or linen and lined with soft cotton wadding to provide some structure. We have added a ribbon for hanging and also provided a little square tag if you would prefer to pin or nail your bow to any surface.

For me ‘the bow’ is a symbol of joy. From the sickly cellophane bows around bouquets to wedding cars, gifts and lavish 80’s bridesmaid dresses. Put a bow on anything and it makes it feel special. When I was about 9 years old I was obsessed with making Fergie bows, the larger and more gaudy all the better ! A little cottage in a village we used to drive through, was seasonally dressed in a huge pink ribbon with a large bow. The treat of seeing this gift of a house was source of fun and anticipation for my family.

Perhaps you will keep your bow wrapped up with your Christmas decorations and treasures to bring out ceremoniously every year. I am sort of girl who never keeps anything for best and would probably hang a bow over the downstairs loo or on the end of the bed. A little reminder that life is a gift, even though it doesn’t always feel like one.

Sophie x

Beep Beep ! Here come the bows…

Pudding for One

I find myself at home alone on Friday nights with increasing frequency. To be clear, I am absolutely fine with the situation as I am always knackered and don’t have the energy to create a meal , go out (what?????) or compromise on my Netflix choices. To optimize these quiet and wonderful evenings, I like to indulge in a personal pudding. There is no need to share and there is something a little rebellious about having ‘just a pudding’ for supper. If this is also your Friday night situation, I have put a couple of VERY simple recipes below to cover both chocolatey and carby cravings.

Chocolate Soufflé for One

50g dark chocolate

A pinch of sea salt

2 heaped tablespoons caster sugar,

25g butter,

1 large egg separated

1 tsp vanilla extract

• Set a fan oven to 180°C and grease a ramekin or small oven proof dish with butter

• Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and melt slowly.

• Whilst the chocolatey mixture is melting, whisk your egg whites until they become snowy peaks and then whizz in the sugar until it all becomes glossy.

• Take the bowl of chocolate and butter off the heat and cool slightly. Then stir in the vanilla extract and egg yolk.

• Fold the stiff egg whites into the chocolatey mixture and delicately spoon into the ramekin.

• Cook for 18 mins and scoff with cream and or ice cream.

Individual Bread and Butter Pudding

x2 small slices of any bread or brioche

a handful of sultanas, cranberries or choc chips

x2 tbsp caster sugar

x2 tbsp double cream

60ml whole milk

Butter to spread

x1 egg

• Set a fan oven to 180° C and grease a ramekin or small oven proof dish with butter

• Spread the bread liberally with butter.

• Layer the bread (you may need to cut it down) into the ramekin sprinkling the dried fruit or choc chips between the layers as you go.

• Meanwhile whisk the egg, cream, sugar and milk together in small jug.

• Pour the creamy mixture over the bread in the ramekin, sprinkling nutmeg or cinnamon on the top if desired.

• Bake for 35 minutes until the top is golden and delicious.

YUM YUM and no need for mind-bending ‘Ottolenghi-style’ 15 ingredient and 25 step instructional methods for total delicious decadence.

Sophie xx

One spoon please?

How to Autumn - Part 1 BOOKS

I woke up this morning and felt the very specific cool breeze that always comes at the beginning of Autumn. Whilst it was a billion degrees last week, the new season will sneak up on us quickly and I like to be prepared. Like many of you, I find this particular time of year quite tricky. I think that it is the combination of being frankly quite exhausted after the school holiday juggle but also mourning the longer days and time spent outdoors. To avoid that flat feeling, it’s nice to have a few little plans for Autumn to welcome and embrace the new season.

Reading is vital to me, however I don’t always find it easy to find the right book for my particular mood or circumstance. In order to soothe the malaise that comes with the loss of summer and ease ourselves into the colder months, we need books that will warm our hearts as well as keep us engaged. Below I have compiled a little list of books that I find both cheering and comforting.

One Day I Will Astonish The World - Nina Stibbe

I have chosen this book because I thought it was so funny, full of wit and irony. The story follows the rather dull life of Susan in rural Leicestershire and her extraordinary friendship with bizarre Norma. I found the book a little hard to get into but ultimately loved the eccentricities of the characters alongside the frequently dark humour.

Games and Rituals - Katherine Heiny

This is a book of short stories and every single one is a gem. Each tale is a perfect little snapshot of ordinary lives and relationships with all their quirks and complexities. My favourite short story ‘CoBra’ is about a man living with his Marie Kondo crazed wife and his growing fear that she will ultimately ‘declutter him’ now that he is deemed ‘neither beautiful nor useful.’ This is a gorgeous little book.

Without Warning and Only Sometimes - Kit De Waal

Author Kit De Waal grew up with an Irish mother and black father in a very poor home in the 1960’s. Her mother became a Johovas Witness who convinced her five children that any naughty behaviour would preclude them from heaven when the world ultimately ended (1975). In spite of all of these very tricky conditions, Kit De Waal tells her autobiogaphy with such love and affection for her family. I have chosen to include this book because it is so of warmth and hope as well as documenting the most extaordinary childhood.

Darling- India Knight

This is a fabulous fast paced retelling of the ‘Pursuit of Love’ by Nancy Mitford. Staying true to the original story, India Knight follows the eccentric Radettes around Paris and London with perfect dead pan humour. Reflective of our times, this book feels like eating a big box of expensive chocolates. I would definitely recommend reading the original for full appreciation of this decadent new version.

If you have any book recommendations for Autumn please put add them to to the comments.

I hope everyone is settling into the new season

Sophie x

Our wonderful team

Here at Poppy and Honesty, I am lucky enough to work with the most wonderful group of women. I started this business from the kitchen table, sewing cushions and bedding around the demands of two small children. Now we have a team of seven ! We all work from our own homes which has been fantastic as we have been able to carry on through all the lockdowns. Next year, I dream that we will have a larger studio so that we can come together and share skills and ideas.

Flexibility is key to operations at Poppy and Honesty. Our team have other commitments and some are carers or have young children. They complete their work around their responsibilities which makes the whole Poppy and Honesty system go round. Our team all have different skills and strengths and it wonderful to be able to draw on these so that we can bring you a fantastic collection of homewares.

Anyway, I thought that it is high time that you metsome of our team. A few of them are camera shy even though I think they just splendid.

Marvellous Mo

Super Steph

Incredibly talented Kate ( no alliteration worthy)

Lovely Lee

Yours truly, spinner of plates !!!

Happy December 1st

A big warm covid free hug

Sophie xxxxx

Flexibility

Food bank donations over Black Friday weekend.

Here at Poppy and Honesty we will not be offering discounts during Black Friday Weekend. We are a very small business, with narrow profit margins and employ a small team of local seamstresses. It is therefore impossible for us to compete with the big guys this Black Friday and participate in the biggest shopping bonanza of the year.

Instead we have teamed up with the beautiful stationary brand ‘Pogofandango’ to give back to our local community. For every item ordered on our site or over at ‘pogofandango’ this weekend, we will both donate an item to our local food-bank. They have given us a list of specific items that are in great demand at this time of year, which will ensure that our donations will be valuable to those who need them most.

We hope you will join with us and support other small businesses when you gather your Christmas haul. Remember to shop well and know that recipients will treasure thoughtful gifts that have a happy provenance.

Have a lovely week

Sophie xxx

Stocking in Marmalade. Duvet Cover in Liberty Fabric

Thorpe Crown in Rose Gingham Cushion in Seaside Stripe

Our beautiful Christmas collection that's made for all year round

Recently I was lucky enough to hang out with glorious Interior Designer Dee Campling and Floral stylist extraordinaire Ness. I have worked with this particular dream team on a few occasions creating whimsical and enchanting scenes, that draw you into a world of twinkly lights, dreamy floral arrangements and featuring some pretty quirky pets. This magical aesthetic is the perfect backdrop for our beautiful liberty fabrics and laundered linens.

Table cloth in Rose Gingham, Ruffle Stocking in Marmalade, Celebration Crown in Seaside Stripe

Aside from the stockings (for which I challenge you to find an annual purpose - possibly peg bag?), all of our table linen and our celebration crowns are designed to be used all year round. Just add seasonal feasts and flowers and you have a wonderfully inviting dining table.

Ruffle Pillowcase in Marmalade, Duvet Covers in Liberty fabrics Thorpe and Wiltshire Bud

Storage bag in Danjo Rust

With regards to our celebration crowns, these are to be used anytime at all. Filled in your tax return ? Taken the recycling out on the correct night ? Got through the worst 18 months ever ? It’s time to wear your crown. Put them somewhere prominent and remember to celebrate every little achievement.

Celebration Crown in Rose Gingham and Wiltshire Bud

Cushion in Seaside Stripe.

Our crowns are handmade with care in Cornwall. One side is made from Liberty fabric and the other is crafted from a beautiful laundered linen. The crowns fasten with a generous ribbon which will accommodate every noddle in the land. We’ve attached a little brass bell to make our crowns a little more jingly and special.

I can’t believe that we will be shutting our studio in a months time (19th December). As many of our products are handmade to order, please shop early as we would hate you to be disappointed. This year I am Christmas shopping for heirlooms and experiences. Let’s try to buy less and better this Christmastime,

Big November Hugs

Sophie

xxxx

Rage, guilt, shame and other Coronactivities

The reason I haven’t written many posts recently is because I feels callous to write about anything other than Armaggedon. Musings on my rather privileged and boring lock-down seem in bad taste, given the current state of the world and the fact that lots of people are having a really awful time. Even though psychologists and great thinkers suggest that we retreat into our smaller interior worlds to help us cope with waves of bad news, I still feel guilty about scrolling through Kardashian lock-down fashion and fixating on peoples’ interior design choices at Zoom meetings. There is a sense amoungst us that we shouldn’t be enjoying life when there are big bad serious things happening.

Guilt and Shame are big power players in the pandemic. On a day to day basis I can generally identify about 6 things that I am ashamed of including: being able to work, sitting on a park bench for 5 minutes, not spending time with my children, scoring ‘appallingly’ in an imaginary Ofsted inspection of home school, not volunteering for the NHS and being fit and healthy. These are the main ones, but I haven’t even touched the shame of slightly fancying the Chancellor Rishi and looking up his personal details on Wikipedia, during his delivery of the ‘daily update of doom’ at Number 10.

During lock-down, we are not only harder on ourselves but everyone around us, casting judgement and scoring people for their ability to social distance. Every time I get back from the supermarket, I get corona-rage about my ‘two metre’ space being invaded and rant about how I am going to get a megaphone and disgrace people for not following the ‘very simple’ rules. Later, I invariably feel guilty for my corona-rage because you don’t know everyone’s situation and it’s not very nice to be so judgemental. From local reports of nasty notes on cars, blocking off public footpaths and vandalism, it would seem that the general public have also got massive corona-rage and feel that it is their duty to shame the public, judging them for their lock-down failures.

I was considering how I could look after my friends when they are going through a really hard time; I try to treat them gently, listen to them, take them chocolate and hold their hands. Given that lock-down is a very hard time (and much harder for others) it seems totally bizarre that we are treating ourselves and our fellow humans with such harshness. It’s natural to want to assign blame for this grim situation and since we can’t actually shout at the Coronavirus itself (well we can if you want), we tend to be angry with ourselves and others instead. Maybe if we could be a little more aware of this behaviour, we will feel a bit better. Similarly we need to remind ourselves that it’s absolutely ok to laugh at Jo Exotic home haircuts, have some nice times during lockdown and not so feel guilty about our own ‘perceived’ failures.

Go easy on yourselves,

Sophie xoxo

Bedding in Blue Grey Linen (on sale). Pillowcase and quilt in Liberty oF London print ‘Capel.’

Motherhood doesnt make you a super hero - being a magnificent woman does

Mothers’ Day is fast approaching and whilst this is a happy, stress-free event for me, I understand that it can be very difficult and problematic for other women. Mothers’ Day must be excruciating for those who have experienced loss or were unable to have children; or for women grieving their own mothers or poorly parented childhoods. However, for women who have chosen to be child free, Mothers’ Day must feel like a rather exclusive party to which they weren’t invited.

Despite the fact that in this day and age women achieve the most incredible things, reproduction is still frequently considered to be the most life changing and rewarding event in a woman’s life. Whilst I adore being a mother and holding those little precious bundles in my arms was indeed life changing and amazing, I think it’s naive and almost verging on arrogant to consider this experience the ‘pinnacle of life’ for every woman. There is no one-way route for happiness and fufillment, just look at Dolly Parton and Oprah (two amongst many fabulous, child-free women).

There is a widely felt assumption that motherhood generates more empathy, compassion and ultimately makes you more evolved as a human being. In light of the number of cases of neglected and abused children, this notion is frankly absurd (Remember Rose West?). Conversely, this prevailing generalization suggests that child- free women have less empathy. I have to say that the fabulous women I know, who have chosen not to have children, are just as insightful and fully briefed on life, as those who know that pain of staying up all night with a teething infant. It was once suggested that Teresa May was less qualified to act as Prime Minister as she had chosen not to have children. I’m not entirely sure how wrangling toddlers makes you any better prepared to negociate a flailing Brexit Deal but I might be wrong there!!

Motherhood can often be exclusive. I have heard of so many cases where mothers have dropped their child- free friends because ‘they don’t understand.’ This is a mistake; for they can bring news on the outside world and a fresh perspective on your potty training woes. (I have to confess a tiny part of me was selfishly disappointed when my long term child-free friend announced her pregnancy: who would provide that great big dose of reality and potty free discussion?) The thing is, motherhood can be divisive and it’s hard to smash the patriachy when there is so much infighting; so let’s just agree that all women are different and equally magnificent.

To the Mothers; I wish you a Happy Mothers Day. (I, for one will be milking it for all it’s worth). To my child-free pals, thanks for all your support, I bloody love you. And for the love of God, can we all leave Jennifer Aniston alone, she’s not having a baby and allegedly she’s cool with that!

Sophie xxxx

Bedding in Liberty Print ‘Wild Flowers’

Insomnia : the all night rave that isn't fun

When I started to write this blog, I promised myself that I would only write about things that I am very familiar with and unfortunately insomnia is one of those things. Generally accompanied by its best friend Anxiety, insomnia usually sticks around for a couple of weeks, two or three times a year. Even though it’s appearance is relatively brief, this all night rave of worry and stress is all consuming and extremely debilitating. In this blog I thought I’d write about the things that help me get through these dark and lonely times and come out the other side feeling weary, but with a little more perspective. I’ll try not to regurgitate the same old tips on exercise and caffeine limits, but include some practical ideas that have helped me.

Get up , Get Out

No matter how little I may have slept, I try really hard to get up, make my bed and start the day. I find this helpful to try and reset my body clock and impose a routine on my sleep habits. If I really need to nap, I grab half an hour on the sofa, so that my bed is only associated with night time sleeping.

Run List for the day.

When I get up after a poor night’s sleep, I often feel rather hopeless and loosy-goosy about what I am going to do with the day. Anyone who has suffered from anxiety will know how hard it can be to make decisions. In order to reduce night time worry and avoid the ‘how the hell am I going to get through the day?’ feelings, I compose a ‘run list’ the night before. The ‘run list’ is very basic and includes little chores like dropping off the boys, walking the dog, work and also nice things such as reading a few chapters of a good book and having a bath. At the end of the day, I tick these off the run list, which makes me feel like that I am bossing it, in spite of the unwelcome anxiety and insomnia raving in my head.

Sleep Apps

Using sleep apps obsessively is counter productive in terms of giving too much time and energy over to ‘fixing a problem’ that can ultimately only fix itself. However, I do find sleep tracking technology quite useful with limited use (Sleepio). By looking at the quality, duration and time span of my sleep problems, I can see that my insomnia isn’t as drastic as I thought it might have been. It is clearly evident that my sleep goes through cycles and that I have made an excellent comeback from periods of insomnia. This helps me to challenge the irrational thoughts that scream ‘you will never, ever sleep again’ very rudely and loudly at 3 in the morning.

Meditation

In Russian, they don't say "I can't sleep." They say: "It isn't sleeping to me”. I really like this idea of not trying to sleep, but waiting for sleep to arrive. In order to welcome the elusive sleep, I use meditation to put myself in the most relaxed and calm position possible. I have to admit that I find quite a lot of meditation, in particular visualization, quite challenging. When I’m feeling anxious and wobbly, I find body scans and breathing meditations more accessible (Calm). In order to use meditation effectively at night, I try to practice once or twice during the day and attempt keep these sessions quite succinct, so that I don’t drift off to the ‘worry party’.

Insomnia can be really miserable and tricks you into thinking that it will never go away, but IT DOES. Rather like committing to a mantra, sometimes I find it helpful to write this down and repeat it often. Sleeplessness tends to ease once I have accepted its presence and worked out how I am going to manage it without being too controlling and obesessive. I don’t doubt that there are millions of others at this all night anxiety rave, and if you’re one of those party go-ers, please know that you have a friend (I’ll bring the vodka, you bring the whistles).

Sophie xxxx

Brighten up the insomnia party with new bedding in Liberty of London’s Felicite