A Simple Path: with Suzanne Gattrell Hodshon

We are delighted to be joined this month by Suzanne Gattrell Hodshon. Suzanne is a crafter, artist and teacher, and you may know her from her gorgeous Instagram gallery. Her work is beautifully simple, cozy and invites us to surround ourselves with warmth and natural fibres. It’s like a soft hug from a good friend.  And perfect for the coming Autumn months.

Read on to hear about how Suzanne came to grow a business after discovering the magic of merino wool, and her chance encounter with whale sharks off the coast of Mexico. Pour yourself a mug of tea, hunker down under a blanket and enjoy her wisdom and outlook on life. 

Can you tell us what you do and how you came to be doing it?

I am a weaver and macramé artist and teach workshops and retreats alongside creating wall hangings for interior décor.

Like a lot of people these days, it’s my second career. My first was working in Marine Conservation for Marine Parks Management and then later World Wide Fund for Nature.

When I was 30 I took a gap year, and whilst living in Tasmania I came across merino wool. When I returned home I started making décor with it as gifts for friends and family. One day someone suggested I try selling my work. It was whilst my first child was in hospital after being born 3 months premature that I created my first mini collection of nursery mobiles, and I had my first market stall a little while after she came home with us.

Over the last 10 years I’ve built my business slowly to what it is today, alongside raising my children.  

If you had one piece of advice or wisdom to pass on to your younger self, what would it be?

I am happy to say that I have achieved most things I have set out to do, however I think I would definitely say that it’s important to really keep your intentions in focus when aiming for your dreams. And also self-care because without it no one benefits.

What is it about slow living and the simple life that you find appealing?

I have always operated at quite a fast pace, juggling lots of things and generally seizing life. When I’m working on a project it’s go, go, go!  All with a desire to see immediate results. However, a series of events including very difficult pregnancies due to Hyperemesis gravidarum (extreme morning sickness) meaning I was in and out of hospital being hydrated, on medication and basically bed ridden, followed by the impacts of early motherhood (chronic sleep deprivation), other life challenges, my stage of womanhood and a general lack of prioritising self care has resulted in my health suffering as a whole. So it’s been a journey of trying to find a balance. Something I’ve known that is vital since I was young but never really completely understood what that meant for me. My children have really helped teach me about the need for self care as has being married to a husband who, as I was mentioning to the lovely Aleks at @Wildlyandslow just the other day, operates at the speed of a hare compared to my tortoise-like pace. 

Slow living and a simpler life is supporting me in this pursuit of greater harmony through improved mindfulness, self compassion and time to allow me to re-energise. I love being social however time on my own is when I recharge and that’s why working from home surrounded by nature, doing something creative, works for me. It's an ongoing process and something I wish to teach my children to appreciate as they grow up in this on-demand culture. One of my greatest priorities beyond anything else is working toward carving out time from the rat race for myself and our family as a whole. I mentioned in one of my posts earlier in the year a quote that really resonated and has really been helping me lately, especially with alot of unknowns going on. It's by Lao Tzu:

“Do you have the patience to wait
Till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
Till the right action arises by itself?”

I am also very fond of the work of Melanie Barnes @GeoffreyandGrace   which is all about slow and simple living. She has just published a book called Seeking Slow which is on my Christmas list, along with Sian's @coldatnight new book Fforest: Being, doing and making in nature.

How can we counter the pulls of content-sharing and curating images of our lives with the need for being in the moment?

I think people have to work within their own comfort zones and for me I soon realised that taking a 24/7 approach to social media wasn’t conducive to a happy me or family. And as much as I love creating content and the social interaction, I made a decision quite a while back that any posts had to be delivering on a significant goal or providing worth for my audience. I also monitor my energy levels and priorities for the day and decide whether I have enough resources to allocate to an effective social media share.

Who inspires you?

Hmmm, so many people! However, right now one person in particular is Sian @coldatnight and @fforest. All that she has created and her ethos is very inspiring for how I wish my life to develop, which includes an appreciation for the simplicity and good things in life all wrapped up in nature, style, creativity, people and family. A wonderful lifestyle.

I also mention Sian because I met her in person last November after attending one of the lovely events held at Fforest called Winter Glow. The long weekend is for women to come together in the surrounding nature and slow down to restore energy, rekindle a passion for fireside creativity and be ready for the festive season ahead. I will be attending again this November and teaching a weaving workshop as part of the retreat. You can find out more here https://www.coldatnight.co.uk/glow-winter.

What are your essential homeware items/ things you couldn’t do without?

If you have seen my account you will know how much I love plants. And I have a natural penchant for wool… which I guess makes sense, and I can’t do without soft wool blankets and my ugg boots. I would rather have pure wool close to my skin mainly because it warms me instantly, something which I know a lot of people find uncomfortable.

What would you like to be doing in 10 years’ time?

Continuing to pursue all that inspires us, living in the home of our dreams and working on projects that we enjoy. All of which will no doubt centre around our family, love of natural architecture, interiors, creativity, the coast, sailing, surfing, nature conservation and travel!

What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done?

Well, there are quite a few, from sleeping on top of active volcanoes to surfing close to a tornado, but probably an impromptu encounter with whale sharks on the border of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. I was doing the research for my MSc degree on a little island off the coast of Cancun. We were on one of the Marine Park vessels doing an early morning patrol for illegal fishing when we saw them. I grabbed my snorkel and mask and jumped over the edge. As we were just into the Gulf the water was colder and murky, so the visibility wasn’t great. Then out of the gloom came this immense creature with incredible markings and a colossal tail. So beautiful and so thrilling. We didn’t stay long as we didn’t want to bother them, but it was definitely a wild and magical experience.

Suzanne, thank you so much for your time and sharing your thoughts with us!

If you'd like to expand your crafting skills and spend some proper slow time working with your hands, Suzanne is running a series of brilliant-sounding workshops:

If you can't get there in person you can also join in with her stunning hashtags on Instagram. Suzanne explained the story behind each one:

#mynestandburrow

I launched the hashtag back in 2017 with the help of the very talented @zoepower as a way to connect with like-minded souls who share a passion for interiors and see their home as a sanctuary. Over the years, and as with most hashtags it's taken on a life of its own and now has close to 13.5k entries.

#mynestandburrow is about the way you lovingly create spaces in your home {nesting} and the resulting magic that provides a nourishing environment for you and your family’s wellbeing. It’s about being inspired by nature, bringing the outdoors in, light, natural materials, as well as a strong interior design ethic that says 'you'!

Use the tag to share your favourite spaces and pockets of your home. The cherished places where you entertain, spend time with family and friends, meditate, create, cook, sleep... or simply just be.

#cosyupyourworld

Cosy up your world is the tag line for Nest & Burrow.  I started it not long after #mynestandburrow and it now has just over 12k tags. 

For me it sums up how I hope the pieces I create, and your own crafted woven wall hangings, will add warmth and texture to your home. And also all what we do to create a cosy, hyggeligt and lykkelig space to live in.  It's just perfect for the seasons ahead of woolens, firelight, feasting and crafting round the kitchen table!

From time to time I run hashtag challenges, so watch this space as I will have one coming up very soon for A/W.

What better inspiration to disengage from work/ phones/ schedules and get crafting? Thanks Suzanne!

For more interviews in this slow living series go here and here.