"I did a textile printing course in Dunedin years ago but I love paper. It's been my thing. People seem to like the prints, and my style is constantly evolving. Sometimes the prints that are not perfect turn out to be the best ones. It's a handcraft, and I use water-based ink, not hard chemicals.
"I set up Cartouche because I didn't want to do a job that doesn't inspire me. But I could not do this without the support of Greg. He works from home a lot of the time as well. You have to be quite disciplined to pull it off but it's been good.
"I'm not supplying to retailers at this stage as I don't want to rush things. I sell my prints online on my website: www.cartouche.co.nz, on www.facebook.com/cartouche.
nz, at markets and events.
"The Little Big Markets have been great. I found it quite liberating to put myself and my work out there like that, so open to people's reactions and criticism. My workspace is my little haven, looking out on the garden. We really love our life here. The community is very inspiring.
"Having only London to compare it with, the lifestyle here at the Mount is much healthier. Greg and I are both outdoorsy people and this suits us much better. We spend a lot of time in our vege garden with Molly.
"The name Cartouche came from an email dialogue I had with my brother, who lives in Houston, and my sisters in Auckland and Tairua. We grew up in South America, and cartouche originates from the word "card'' in Latin. A cartouche is an oval with a horizontal line at one end enclosing a group of Egyptian hieroglyphs, typically representing the name and title of a monarch. It's a special design. Cartouche also stands for Carolyn Touch. It's important to me to have a brand that I love.
"I was born in Ecuador and grew up in Colombia. I still have a poncho that has travelled with me from South America to the South Island, then to London and now to the Mount. I've had it since I was 10, when I went to boarding school in England. It has my name tag in it.
"We have travelled a lot and I do have some special things from some the places we visited, Morocco especially.
I also brought a big print of the Queen back with me from London. Greg gave it to me for my 30th birthday. It's a beautiful big screenprint and I love it. I have finally put her on the wall.
"I'm amazed it didn't break in the container on the way over. It did scratch, but only I can see that.''
- As told to Martine Rolls
