Jenny Brown’s Bedside Table

Tell us a bit about yourself. My husband gives me the title of a creative. He says he never knows which genre of artistic endeavour I’m going to announce is my next ‘thing’ to try my hand at. I trained as a textile designer and fine arts photographer, and have worked in a variety of interior design-related fields. These days I enjoy pattern, paint, stitching, cloth, photography and quilting, and this all finds its way into the two rooms we run at our BnB.

On my bedside table right now is...

A Portuguese tile. We were lucky to have a trip to Portugal in 2016 and spent a number of days in Lisbon. A highlight was visiting the National Tile Museum and I was in awe of the pattern, designs and colours. We found this tile in a market and I knew I wanted it beside my bed forevermore.

I’m a slow reader and never seem to get through more than two pages a night before my eyes shut. This book has whetted my creative interest since it’s all about the light, watercolour and differing artists’ interpretations.

I made this necklace from flotsam and jetsam that I’ve gathered up over the years.

My wedding band. I recently had it remade using both the engagement ring and wedding band combined, since after thirty-seven years, both were showing signs of needing repair. A bit like us all!

I bought these Turkish earrings from a shop in Sydney many years ago. They remind me of that extraordinary country, which we spent three months exploring in 1988.

The silver bracelet was given to me by my mother after one of her trips to India.

I found this faux Athenian/Greek coin in a second-hand shop years ago. It has an owl on it, which I love, and it reminds me of two special owls. One, the ruru that calls at night sometimes from our garden, and two, an incredible book by Margaret Craven titled I Heard the Owl Call My Name. Both a reminder to notice the stillness around us and be in the present moment.

The bookmark was made from an old Victorian ribbon and was given to me by my mother.

I can’t believe this pen, bought as a touristy thing, is still going. Many years ago, we had a fabulous couple of nights at Emerald Lake in British Colombia, Canada, and snow-shoed across the frozen lake. This pen is a constant reminder of how magical that experience was. I use it to jot down creative ideas, which usually come before I go to sleep, in the notebook.