{To Wander} Edinburgh, Part 4

To truly escape a while, I recommend a wander down The Water of Leith, from The Gallery of Modern Art to the pretty and historical Dean Village.

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
Maya Angelou

With bridges and statues, the calming running water and canopy of trees, it’s easy to forget that you are in a city.

“The power provided by the rapid flow of the river was harnessed to drive waterwheels in mills at over 70 sites along the river, establishing a string of villages. The mills produced a variety of goods for Edinburgh and further afield including, paper, flour, woollen and linen cloths, spices and snuff.” – Source

Home to many of the workers employed by the mills along the river in the 1800s, Dean Village really is a delightful step back in time.




Up the river from Dean Village is the gorgeous Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. There are two buildings, Modern One and Modern Two. The water feature in front of Modern One is incredible. Landscaped in 2002 with a design by Charles Jencks, the curves and variations in height make for a unique experience so I suggest walking around it and taking some photos.
Inside you will see a giant, robotic like sculpture beautifully dominating the room, by Eduardo Paolozzi.

The façade of Modern One houses Martin’s Creed’s work No. 975, “Everything’s Going to be Alright.” The neon lighting contrast so perfectly with the classic building.

One of Scotland’s modern masters, Eduardo Paolozzi, is honoured in numerous ways in the gallery. Below is a recreation of his studio with actual pieces from the artist himself, to show his process and technique.

He had an enthusiastic and encyclopaedic variety of interests in the world and refelected this by frequently changing the media and styles in which he worked. The studio is divided into areas for different types of activity: desks for reading and working with paper, shelves of reference books, a large central table for modelling, and working with plaster casts, and a bunk for resting. – Source

Glasgow born, Nathan Coley, created the piece in front of Modern Two, “There will be no miracles here”.


Below is a small taste of Stockbridge, a popular area amongst locals in the Burgh. I will head back soon to capture its quirky, classy charm in more detail. Over and out from a sunny Scotland. 🙂

{To Wander} Edinburgh, Part 3

For one of the best views of this wonderful city, I highly recommend heading up the easily accessible and historical Calton Hill. Covered with monuments which add so much to the City’s striking skyline, this iconic hill offers a wonderful escape from the busy-ness of Princes Street below, and views of the whole city and out to the ocean past Leith.

Below you can see The Old City Observatory and Nelson Monument: Originally commemorating the death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, but in 1852 a time ball was added to the top to enable ships moored in the Firth of Forth to set their time-pieces accurately. It’s open to the public so I will head up there soon and report back on whether it’s worth the £4 admission fee 🙂

Below is The Old Observatory House is one of few remaining buildings that were built by the famous architect James Craig.


The ocean view, to Leith and beyond.


Here we have The National Monument, which is based on Acropolis, Athens and is unfinished, which adds a bit of interest to it, if you ask me.

The Dugald Stewart Monument is modelled on The Tower of the Winds in Athens, Greece by Lysicrates. It was of the key structures on Calton Hill that help earn Edinburgh the alias  ‘Athens of the North’.

After a delightful walk I was greeted with a rather pretty view from Waverly bridge…

Ah, Balmoral Hotel, you beauty.

The next day I took myself into New Town again to peruse the exquisite Scottish National Portrait Gallery.  Interestingly enough, it’s building was paid for by a local newspaper owner:

“In 1889, John Ritchie Findlay, the chief proprietor of The Scotsman, not only paid for the construction and an endowment, but he also masterminded the building that was to house the collection. He employed the architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, who had previously won the competition for designing the Edinburgh Medical Schools and who later earned a wide reputation for the restoration of ecclesiastical buildings in Scotland.” – Source

The rich, warm colours are so beautiful, and the perfect backdrop for the collection of stone sculptures.

The tall arched windows create amazing light and I could spend days admiring the carefully considered details. There is no admission fee so if you find yourself in Edinburgh, go spend a few happy, inspiring hours here.

More from my wanders through New Town: The display at Harvey Nicks is fantastic!

Charlotte Square was the last part of the initial phase of the New Town, completed in 1820. In 1939 a large air-raid shelter was created under the south side of the gardens.

On the other side of town, I visited The Elephant House, commonly known as one of the places where J.K.Rowling wrote Harry Potter. To be honest, the food and coffee weren’t amazing. But it has a great view from the windows in the back room and a plethora of Harry Potter graffiti worth having a look at/contributing to, in the bathroom.


Tomorrow I’ll be sharing my photos from a walk along the Water of Leith and a brief visit to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Have a lovely rest of your day, dear readers!

What it’s all about

Designerisms, the Blog, is about  appreciation. About finding beauty in the ordinary.

As a quirky, empathetic designer-type person, I have always had wanderlust. Yearning to see more than just the inside of our lounges, many of us see travelling not just as a luxury, but as an essential part of getting to know life. In this space, I will be sharing the feeling of joy we often feel when experiencing a new place… but rather than limit it to travelling to other countries, I want to encourage you all to cultivate that feeling in mini adventures. We can even feel awe when sitting on the step outside our home if we choose to be amazed by the little things. So often in life we limit our happiness to the major occurrences, but with the right outlook and by consciously living in the moment we will learn to see beauty in so much more.

I have felt overwhelmed by all the social media, the internet’s constant growth, the flood of new images every day. How does one keep up? But then I realised that there’s something really great about people taking time to take a picture of a plant, or a meal, because they are appreciating those seemingly mundane things- seeing the good, and in their own way, expressing gratitude.

And so, Designerisms follows two main themes. It’s is about celebrating creativity and inspiration. It’s about being mindful- being present in moments instead of just getting swept along by life. As a way of cultivating this attitude, I will be sharing moments with photography, articles, art and designs inspired by experiences.

If you have experiences you’d like to see shared in these ways, I’d love to hear about it 🙂 Go to the Designerisms contact page to get in touch.

{To Inspire} The Reader

This ad is too lovely not to share. “The Reader” is the latest Bells Ad in South Africa. Heart strings, prepare to be tugged. Tissues at the ready. Nice one, King James.

Happy Holidays

Onwards and upwards 🙂

{To honour} Nelson Mandela

Today we honour this wonderful man.

Nelson Mandela has shown the world that kindness, grace and forgiveness are stronger than greed or evil. He leaves us with hope and inspires us to follow in his path, to love… to do everything with passion; to be patient, but also to strive for what you know to be right; to embrace the good and never give up.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

May we all go forward in love, to live lives of significance and courage, and allow his qualities to live on. Thank you Madiba.

{To inspire} Invincible Summer

As the days grow warmer here in South Africa, I have been thinking of a well known quote by a french philosopher: In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. Albert Camus I love the idea of… Read More

{To Delight} Wes Anderson’s Latest

I cannot contain my excitement after watching the trailer for Wes Anderson’s new movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel (thanks to my dear friend Romy for the share). Grand indeed! Never one to disappoint, the King of awkward quirkiness seems to have done it again with… Read More