Cabin Casting Collaboration: Spinks Nest, Norfolk

My latest creative exchange saw me setting off to North Norfolk, an area of the UK I am not that familiar with. One of my university friends was from just outside Norwich so I spent a bit of time exploring the expansive coastline with her but given that was, scarily, about 20 years ago I was looking forward to visiting again as from what I could remember, its a stunning place. So far this year I have been reaching out to beautiful cabins, bothies and cottages to see if they want to take part in my botanical Grand Tour and host me for a creative exchange. However this time it was wonderful Ana from Spinks Nest who approached me via instagram after reading my interview with Hergest Lee, the wonderful Welsh cabin I had the pleasure of spending a few nights in earlier this year. I was absolutely delighted to receive Ana’s DM and after checking out her beautiful flint cottage, the Spinks Nest, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. Given all the issues with wee Pinto I decided to hedge my bets and set up a stay later in the year so when we arranged a few dates for October way back in June it felt like a wee light at the end of a very busy summer tunnel to look forward to. Somehow its suddenly Autumn and I was packing my bags and rousing Pinto at 6am to hit the road to Norfolk on a crisp Friday morning.

It is a long old drive to Norfolk but I was accompanied on the first leg by the haunting Hunter Moon and after a brief stop in Harrogate, I rolled into the quaint, picturesque village of Hunworth in North Norfolk. The Spinks Nest was even more magical in real life; the name of the perfectly proportioned tiny flint cottage is derived from the Norfolk term for finches, which were returning to Norfolk from their Scandinavian summers to bed down for the Autumn during my stay. I found Ana potting up plants in the garden of the Spinks Nest and we chatted away as the sun set and the pheasants crowed in the evening light. I discovered that Ana and her husband Alan had moved to Norfolk from London, originally buying the Spinks Nest with the larger house behind as a holiday bolt hole, but the peaceful, gentle Norfolk pace of life took its hold and they now live here permanently. The Spinks Nest was a small, basic dwelling which hadn’t been touched since the 1960’s and was in need of some sprucing. Ana and Alan applied for planning to extend the cottage by 1.5m to allow for a bigger kitchen and set about transforming the cottage slowly and with love using reclaimed materials, salvaged wood, pieces by local makers as well as antique and vintage furniture. It became their home while they renovated the house they now live in behind the cottage and the care, attention and love that was poured into the layout, interiors and feel of the Spinks Nest shines out.

Beautiful flowers from Ana waiting for me when I arrived

On researching the Spinks Nest I learnt that Ana had created a character around whom the interior of the cottage was designed, and fittingly this fictional stylistic cottage dweller was a gardener - how perfect! Stepping into the cottage in real life, the ascribed theme created a welcoming and ultra stylish, comfortable space which has been described as “potting shed chic”. The open shelving in the kitchen and beautifully curated bric a brac, terracotta pots, dried flowers, insect and butterfly  vintage posters, rustic earthenware, luscious house plants and incredible tiled floor with imprinted of leaves (made by local artists) are harmoniously combined to create a cosy, comfortable nest like place to hunker down . The colour palette of deep sultry browns, warm creams and emerald green pops is enhanced by the natural texture of the flint walls, the majestic reclaimed brick hearth, vintage William Morris curtains and wood panelling. The original  section of the cottage has been cleverly designed, with a dividing partition crowned by house plants and vintage ornaments. I slept like a baby on one side in a deliciously comfortable platform bed under the pitched roof and stepped through the vintage William morris curtains to the living room area in the morning light, complete with two slouchy leather chairs, cosy reading lights, a fire and an impressive reclaimed brick hearth strung with an elaborate dried flower swag which is renewed annually by a local florist. The underfloor heating in this part of the cottage was much appreciated by both my soggy feet and Pinto, who didn’t move from his cosy bed set up most of the weekend. The interior continues to delight in the bathroom, as you are greeted with a throne toilet seat, crafted out of iroko wood tops from a school science laboratory and a sunken micro cement bath which took me right back to Japan and our nightly onsen.

Sadly the weather was a bit against me and the rain lashed continuously over the weekend, but during pockets of dry weather I was able to get to work in the garden of the Spinks Nest. I walked around Ana and Alan’s garden with them chatting about their renovation and life in Norfolk, whilst picking some of their favourite flowers in the garden to work with - teasels, marsh marigolds and Japanese anemones. There was the most incredible passionflower in full bloom on the trellis outside Spinks nest which I had fun working with, as well as buddliea, hollyhock, salvia, rosemary and forget me nots picked in the garden. Pinto and I had a great time exploring nearby attractions in the rain, Holkham Hall and Holkham Beach were top of the list but sadly the hall had just shut when I arrived so we had fun prancing round with the deer in the park before heading back to Holt for a poke around the shops. Holt is the home of Birdie Fortescue, who I have been supplying with bespoke casts for the last few years, so I had to pop in and check out the showroom. I was greeted by the sweetest tiny dapple Daschund called Margo as she took on her role as shop dog and I enjoyed many puppy cuddles and licks as I perused Birdie’s wonderful homewares and lighting. The flint beaches around Norfolk are a swimmers dream, no sand between the toes or stuck in your swimsuit! I enjoyed a morning dip in the eerie fog at Salthouse on Sea with Pinto looking on, wrapped up like a bundle in my dry robe and went for a stroll along the pebbles after, finding lots of lovely seaweed which I took back to the cottage for some seaweed casting experiments.

As well as making a piece for the Spinks nest in exchange for my stay, I was also working on my grand tour intaglio series as well as some hanging miniatures for the amazing Spinks Nest store, the smallest shop in Norfolk. Situated just opposite the cottage in a wee shed, the store operates on an honesty policy and is filled with homewares, accessories and apoothocety items by local makers and suppliers. I can’t wait for the wee hanging casts I made during my stay to dry so I can get them finished and sent down to the Spinks Store for other guests to purchase.

This was the fifth collaborative stay I have been lucky enough to experience as part of my casting grand tour of the UK, inspired by my love of Grand Tour intaglio collections which I learned more about through the eyes of Wedgewood at a recent trip to Stoke on Trent which energised my passion for this project. Back in the 18th century small plaster intaglios were amassed by the young aristocratic men on their European travels, which would often be mounted into cases or books and displayed in fashionable interiors back home. These collections acted as souvenirs of a year long adventure in Europe in addition to being a reminder of the inspiring artworks and decorative pieces they had come across during their travels.  So my aim is to undertake my own Grand Tour of the UK this year, and also take some female ownership of a tradition which was almost entirely undertaken by men back in the day, and create a visual record of the flora and fauna of Britain by capturing a moment in the seasonal life of the landscape around the cabins I am staying in around the country.

You can check out my other cabin adventures on this blog and if you know, or own, a cabin and would like to take part in my grand tour (and get a free artwork made on site in your cabin) please get in touch.

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