About Herne’s Daughter

Hi, I’m Sam, a slightly feral middle aged mother to one living in the Charnwood area of central England. I share my life with my labrador Jessamy, and a reclusive grump of an owl called Snug. My life has never really been normal or so I have frequently been told and I am not really one for common convention, it doesn’t fit, it itches and is generally uncomfortable! 

I have spent my life in various areas of Leicestershire and Rutland but I’m happy that I found myself back amid the volcanic rocks and oaks of Charnwood which shaped so much of my early imagination. I spent nearly my entire childhood riding ponies, walking dogs and drawing the animals and nature I encountered. I lived in the town but thankfully we took every opportunity to get out into the green of Swithland woods, Beacon Hill or Bradgate park among others. During school holidays it was my grandmother’s role to keep an eye on the younger me who was dragged around more old houses and stately homes than I can name. Surprisingly this didn’t bore me as much as you would expect and fuelled my imagination and interest in historical life, mostly in the traditional skills of rural life.  

I fell into many different job roles and even went back to university to study Wildlife Conservation however, I have since become aware of just how different I am and along with other health issues this has meant I was unable to pursue the career I would have so very much loved to do. This obviously left me devastated and wanting for direction for a period until I was able to fully understand the opportunity this had provided. I had nothing to lose so why not just do something for myself? 

The natural world remains a huge driver for me both ethically and creatively. I have been lucky enough to meet some amazing people who have no doubt left an indelible mark on the way I view the world but also the more common media and literary influences. I grew up like many watching David Attenborough and later my interests expanded to encompass people like Ray Mears, Bruce Parry and even Time team. These became sources for information on how other’s live and survive outside the modern society I found so uncomfortable and paved the way for me to be where I am now.  

What I do

My current projects are centred heavily on leatherworking and have found a natural talent for embellishing my own designs and creating my own patterns to my personal specifications. I try to imagine how I would use something personally and then build a design around fulfilling a practical purpose instead of trying to force a purpose on something fundamentally unsuited (ah! Doesn’t that sound familiar). I currently work from my own designs but welcome commissions or requests for specific images.  

I also try to keep some time available to work on my artwork, something that has been a cornerstone of who I am since I could first hold a pencil. I work on subjects relating to my passions of the outdoors, wildlife and on occasions my pagan beliefs and like to try different media including watercolour, lino printing, oils and pen and ink. These images are made available where appropriate as prints or cards. On occasion original prints from lino cut or mono printing may also be available.  

I hope to expend my scope in the future as I expand my own skill set, such as working with other natural materials like willow, wool and hopefully even experimenting with nettle fibres. I have already been playing with broom corn to make natural hand brushes and hope to look at other practical uses for different natural materials. In addition to this I am hopeful that I will find suitable locations to share what I have learnt and been working on with others via group and individual workshops.  

The main thing for me is that I try to keep my business working within my personal ethical beliefs. This means that anything made should have a purpose and ideally be useful in addition to being well made and long lasting however, I want to strive for products that will leave no lasting trace at the end of their lives or has extended the life of something that would otherwise have already entered landfill. This is a difficult ask as a small creator starting out but at every step, I intend to reexamine my sources of materials and ask if I can find something more ecologically sound that will perform to the same standard. Moreover, the use of natural materials will see us prevent additional microplastics from clothing and other products entering the environment and clogging the food chain.  

I feel these ideals mirror those of previous artisans and the people who believed in that way of life, Those of the Arts and Crafts movement. Individuals such as John Ruskin were predicting environmental issues in the middle of the industrial revolution as well as shining a light on the mental health impacts that being a small cog in a machine had on the working men who no longer got the sense of accomplishment derived from seeing a finished piece, they had themselves created. We are still pointing out the same issues today and it takes for us to implement some form of action to change it if that is what we truly wish to see.