Some of you may have recognised our lovely bird logo as the work of author and artist, Emma Magenta. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, Emma is the author of a series of adult picture books; The Peril of Magnificent Love, A Gorgeous Sense of Hope, The Origin of Lament and The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch. Her books have resonated with thousands of women around the globe.

Her most recent creation; The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch is Emma’s first foray into the world of animation and follows the emotional journey of Emma’s alter-ego Phillipa Finch, from death to life. A sixteen episode series screened on ABC1 in 2011 that seeks to bridge the gap between human emotion and technology via an interactive website.

Phillipa is the pin up girl for the emotionally twarted. Each episode tumbles back through her past relationships, and follows her journey from the numb, torpid and stupified to the land of the emotionally fulfilled.

Finland’s oldest glass factory is located at the Nuutajärvi Glass Village, in the south of Finland. For over 200 years, glassblowing has been the central industry for this small community. It’s most famous resident is Oiva Toikka...he of the world reknowned Toikka glass Birds for Iittala, the Finnish design company.

I made it over to Scandinavia in 2006. In search of all things on the holy grail of Scandinavian design, I had dreamt of collecting Toikka's Birds, and this was to be my first purchase. Oiva Toikka's glass birds were born in 1972, the year of my birth, so this journey felt somewhat predestined.

A small golden, green-striped bird created for a Christmas exhibition mounted by the Nuutajärvi Museum in 1979 attracted the attention of a journalist at the family magazine, "Kotiliesi", which decided to offer it to its readers instead of a print as in previous years. The bird proved to be a great success. Since the inception of his glass bird creations, Oiva Toikka has created over 500 variations of glassblown birds including the annual bird release every year since 1996.

Toikka glass birds are collected all around the world. Rarities are as eagerly tracked down and talked about as their real equivalents in the ornithological world. My small, but precious collection, sits on high in our living room, out of the reach of little hands, whilst their real equivalents fly by our windows their lungs full with the joys of song.

Love, love, love. Sigh.

I was first introduced to Rob Ryans divine paper art last year. Rob is a highly acclaimed British visual artist and illustrator who specialises in papercutting and screen printing. Widely acknowledged as the man who reinvented paper cuts, sparking a worldwide art movement, his work has been featured on Paul Smith’s catwalk, the cover of Stylist magazine, Vogue and Elle.

Ryan's first book, This Is for You, was published in 2007 and consists of a fairytale told through his paper cut-out art  and explores themes of love and loneliness. Receiving my very own ‘This is for You’ package in the mail, felt like Christmas all over again. From the handcut stamp, to the brown paper packaging, personal messages, and hand written note card. His shop, Ryantown, came about in the summer of 2008. It is top of my list for my next visit to the UK. His work, style and humour are second to none and get the big thumbs up from.

Check out Robs work here, visit his website, and watch a short youtube interview with the man himself. It made my day to know his favourite kids book was The Elves and the Shoemaker, as I still have a copy from when I was a child. My absolute favourite.

What's not to love?