I am a character designer and researcher who works in a variety of media including interactive storytelling, playful interaction and character-centric communication. My practice-led research seeks to build meaningful experiences and storytelling opportunities between digital and tangible activities and objects. With a specific focus on environmental advocacy for issues such as predation, ecosystem collapse, and conservation through my character toy designs. I have qualifications in Industrial design, Illustration, and Interactive design and has worked for Weta Workshop on the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Aardman Animation, The World of Wearable Art, and within the UK Toy industry as a product designer.
I am an internationally recognised doll and toy artist and the former President of the National Institute of American Doll Artists, and an alumna of the Pictoplasma Academy.
A Senior Lecturer at Massey University, College of Creative Arts in New Zealand where I am the program lead for Concept Design and the Weta Workshop School at Massey Masters program. I am a current PhD candidate, my practice-based research “Wild Play” explores the design of eco-fiction toys that engage children in outdoor imaginative play